Go Buy Guns, Magazines, and Ammo

To me this election was a choice between the lesser of two evils. Actually the last few have been that way for me. Unfortunately for America, lesser lost. Probably in the future more stupid Americans will vote more of our freedoms away. Maybe it’s just part of the cycle of greatness and decline the empires go through, I don’t know.

As I’ve mentioned before, Obama doesn’t really care about the Second Amendment. Along with the re-election of Obama, consider that a long-time anti-gun senator – Dian Feinstein – is probably planning a gun grab, perhaps like this country has never seen:

- – No pistol grip allowed
- – No [high capacity] Mags
- – No grandfathering
- – No sale permissible if in possession

I don’t see “no grandfathering” as realistic in America. Any such legislation won’t go anywhere for at least two years since the Republicans hold the house and it won’t go through them. The house will be up for grabs again in two years.

Obama might get the opportunity to appoint anti-gun justices to the Supreme Court. A few high profile mass shootings might be all it takes to push the pendulum of popular opinion far enough, long enough to do some real legislative/legal damage. Once those freedoms are lost, I don’t see how we could get them back without bad things happening.

Obama could also use executive orders to limit our Second Amendment freedoms. I’m particularly worried about access to ammunition, including having to have a permit to purchase ammo, limits/rationing, ending cheap imports, etc. It could happen.

Go buy what you need while you can.

Guns and Ammo Finishing Touches

When you get to where you’re going, some GPS units say, “you have arrived.” That’s kind of what I feel like as I expect that before the New Year my brothers and I will have all standard rifles and carbines and standard caliber pistols (9mm) and shotguns (12 gauge), exceeded our minimum ammo stockpile requirements for all calibers/gauges we own, and have sufficient gear such as slings, scopes, etc.

Is it enough? No, it’s never enough. But if TEOTWAWKI happened on or after January 01, 2012, wouldn’t feel like we got caught with our pants down, at least considering firearms, ammo, and related gear.

For longer range rifles (~200+ yards), we have several more Mosin Nagant rifles than we can probably use – I expect others would show up and need them. Several of those rifles already have bent bolts, will soon have JMeck scope mounts, and will then be scoped with Nikon or Simons scopes.

We chose the Mini-14 Tactical (and here) for our carbine (300 yards max, closer preferred). While there are not as many customization options for the Mini-14 as for the more popular AR-15 variants, we determined that for a survival situation in which spare parts or a choice in ammo might not be available, the more rugged piston operated and sufficiently accurate Ruger will do just fine.

Recently Nutnfancy spoke about the importance of being, “Tactically Squared Away,” and Ryan wrote about having enough ammo of sufficient caliber. I agree with both. We’ve been slowly putting away thousands of rounds in all calibers/gauges, and the slings, scopes, mag pouches, dump pouches, etc. that are needed. We’ll be using MOLLE II FLC vests to attach needed pouches and other items (these days very cheap, shop eBay).

At one point I thought it best to get rid of (for us) odd caliber weapons so that we don’t need to worry about the logistics of spare parts and ammo for them long-term. But I eventually decided that unless obsolete, having a variety of non-standard caliber weapons – or a way to use ammo for them – is fine. For example, we don’t have a .38 special or .357 magnum, but an adapter will allow us to shoot that ammo from a 12 gauge shotgun. Adapters are available in a varied of calibers and gauges.

For guns, ammo, and related gear we’re there – but will keep adding, especially more magazines and ammo. Can never have enough. But the new priority for 2012 will be food stockpiling and growing…

Cheaper Than Dirt Customer Service Fail

Update: Cheaper Than Dirt read this post and has corrected the issue! I think I feel a six-pack coming my way…

Original Post: Do you think the Glock Field Knife is a dagger? Cheaper Than Dirt (CTD) does, and they won’t ship it to a customer in my area because of this error. Note that the top edge of the knife past the tip is flat, not sharp or even tapered.

Over the years I’ve purchased a lot of good equipment (and some junk) from CTD, including a few knives, with no real issues. But a buddy recently forwarded me a strange email exchange with CTD customer service that has changed my view of the company. Gets into the realm of idiotic incompetence on CTD’s part. I’ll still buy there, but will shop around a lot more first.

Like me, this friend lives in Northern Virginia. When he tried to order the Glock Field Knife from CTD (their item number GLOCK-105), he got this message;

Because of restrictions imposed by local laws, some of the items in your cart can not be sold to you.

There was an icon next to the knife saying, “Can Not Ship.” He emailed customer service asking why. This was the first response;

I do apologize but due to state restrictions, we cannot ship GLOCK-105.

Ok, what state restrictions? Virginia isn’t known for being a nanny state. He emailed again asking what restrictions, “specifically.” The same CTD customer service agent responded;

I apologize but we will not be able to ship the item.

Vibe I’m getting reading the email exchange is that the customer service person is on autopilot and not really paying attention to what the customer is asking. Minimum wage, minimum effort, a little bit too much power for pay grade.

My buddy emails them back, asking again for the “specific Virginia law” that would prevent a Glock Field Knife from being shipped to him. He also did an experiment by adding a KaBar Fighting Knife (Glock blade profile is almost identical, just smaller). Guess what? The KaBar was fine, which he mentioned in the email. CTD response;

Please be advised of the restrictions for the state of Virgina below…

VIRGINIA
- Assisted-Opening Knives
- Daggers
- Throwing Knives
- Throwing Stars/Shuriken
- Starter (Blanks) Pistols
- Fuel Cans

Our system recognizes an issue with shipping the item you requested, so the system will not allow us to ship you the item. Check with your local law enforcement agency or the state legislator as we do not have detailed information on why an item is restricted.

The computer says it, so it must be true. Check the picture of the Glock Fighting Knife above – it’s none of the things on the list. They ignored his question about why the KaBar is ok but the Glock is not.

But thinking progress was being made because he has the list of wrong reasons, my buddy sends response spelling out that the knife is none of those things and asks that the error in the “system” be corrected. Pretty obvious solution. CTD customer service responds;

We apologize, but the item could be classified as a dagger. We create the restrictions based on our interpretation of the laws.

A Glock Field Knife is not a dagger. It seems the minim wage customer service agents are following their script. Buddy sends and email explaining that needs to be reevaluated since it is technically incorrect, suggests a manager get involved. CTD strikes again (bold mine);

I brought this to the attention of upper management and it may be completely legal in your state, but Cheaper Than Dirt made a business decision not to ship this item to you area. I do apologize but we will not be making any exceptions.

My experiment – went to CTD, added several knives, including the Glock Field Knife (w/o saw back, the one blocked), the version with a saw back, a KaBar, and an actual dagger. Keep in mind we live in the same area. My results;

Yeah, that’s right. Cheaper Than Dirt won’t ship a Glock Field Knife w/o saw back because their “business decision” says it’s a dagger. The saw back version is fine, as is an actual dagger.

This is a huge fail for Cheaper Than Dirt, no good excuse. They should be more careful about who they hire to interface with customers – I’d have been a lot less polite with the dolts at their customer service.

Bug Out Navigation: Maps and GPS

Continuing the theme of bug out preparations, this is my navigational plan for traveling the 1,300 odd miles from where I’m living in Northern Virginia to my parents rural Nebraska farm, the “retreat,” should TEOTWAWKI occur.

As mentioned before, a map of population density by county is helpful for seeing how the eastern half of the U.S. is very densely populated. If things are getting chaotic while bugging out, Interstate highways and other main roads may not be clear, and detours could add a couple hundred more miles. Having a way of finding where you are and good maps is critical.

The best case is to just take Interstates most of the way and then take the local roads I know. If I recognized early on that it was time to bug out and only had a couple hundred miles to go, this would probably work just fine. But if late in leaving, and due to the time it would take to get there non-stop (about 22-24 hours, including pit stops), it’s unlikely the path will be that easy.

My main navigational aid while driving is a run-of-the-mill GPS. I have a Magellan but any inexpensive unit ought to do for basic navigation along main roads.

While these are GPS units are great for getting you from point A to point B after you’ve told it where to take you, with main roads potentially closed it’s perhaps better to put small segments of the overall trip in at a time so you can control your route and avoid potential bottlenecks, roadblocks, etc. Good maps of every state you might need to go through are called for.

Enter DeLorme. Most U.S. road atlases aren’t going to offer the level of back roads detail required, but DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteers do. These products regularly receive high marks from those who travel a lot, and are also called out in Bug Out by Scott Williams.

I used online mapping tools to identify the three most likely Interstate routes I would take, and purchased the Atlas & Gazetteer for each state I would or might pass through. At about $20 this came to nearly $300. I’m now in the process of using highlighters to clearly mark the Interstate routes I might take, and different colored highlighters to mark secondary highways, state roads, etc., for alternate routes.

This is time consuming and I won’t be done for awhile yet, but when done will provide me with all the maps I should need while bugging out, already marked (in plastic and stowed in my truck toolbox). If getting off main routes, I would enter segments from my maps for the GPS to guide me. Some GPS units can route multi-point trips as well.

Some GPS units also require a street address (or GPS coordinates) for the destination. To make this process faster, I plan on finding specific addresses (perhaps gas stations, sporting goods stores, etc.) and putting them on Post-It notes in the maps along the routes highlighted. Planning now will make things smoother then.

While those maps are outstanding, should my family and I have to abandon our Bug Out Vehicle (BoV) for any reason, I probably could not carry those paper maps due to space and weight constraints. And a GPS for vehicle navigation would require recharging soon, aside from not having the detail needed. Bugging out on foot is definitely something to avoid, but if it is necessary we will need to navigate (map and compass are nice, but probably not most useful in our case).

I’ve opted for another DeLorme product; the Earthmate PN-60 GPS. Look for it on sale around $300-350 – well worth it.

The PN-60 gets high marks for being rugged and a good battery life (much improved from the PN-40, which I upgraded from), but the primary reason I chose this GPS is that DeLorme includes DVDs with coverage of all of North America.

The 3.5GB of built-in storage isn’t enough for all the states I need to add, but it can also take an SD card of up to 32GB, which will take all the maps included. These are the same detailed maps as the Atlas & Gazetteer series, but on the GPS. With a yearly subscription of $30 you can download additional maps for the PN-60 (or any PN series GPS), including satellite imagery.

Even if you live in or very near your retreat, a bug out plan is needed in the event that location has to be vacated, for whatever reason. Having good local maps and a backup GPS is something I recommend.

Outfitting Firearms and Beefing Up the BoB

Over the past year my brothers and I have purchased a variety of firearms. Now that we’ve had them for a bit and know they’re keepers, we’re finally getting around to some minor accessorizing; optics, slings, bipods, and mounts for them. Also stocking up on magazines and ammunition. Nothing exotic, but it still adds up fairly fast.

Aside from the ammunition and magazines, these items aren’t required for survival weapons. However they do make the weapons more usable and can make them much more effective. Reviews to follow over the next several months.

There are tons of options and I suggest you spent some time online figuring out what seems to work with your specific firearms. For some scope mounts drilling and tapping (I recommend having a gunsmith do this) the rifle receiver is required – it costs more but in many cases will be the best choice. Beside regular searches, two forums have been particularly useful; The High Road (THR) and Perfect Union.

Most of our purchases have been through CDNN and Cheaper Than Dirt, though a few have been through Amazon.com. For the best ammo prices I always check Gun-Deal.com.

I’ve also been revamping my Bug Out Bag (BoB). Haven’t had time to update the BoB inventory yet, but have tried to free up some space and reduce the weight, since if/when it really needs to be used, more stuff will be added last minute that will fill it up and weight it down.

Besides thinning things out in general, I replaced the small fleece sleeping bags with Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivy Sacks. While not a long-term solution, these take up about a quarter of the space/weight, which I believe will be more important initially.

Some of the things I’ve added are for the long-term bug out situation, including snares from Bruce “Buckshot” Hemming’s site, and some smaller traps from Presleys Outdoors. The idea would be to catch a meal while sleeping, silently, and without expending ammo or much energy.

I’ve never used either snare or traps and won’t try them out where I live as I’d probably only get cats and a few squirrels. But there is a lot of info available on both snares and traps to create some simplified instructions to put in the BoB, and of course I’ll experiment with the snares/traps before packing them away.

A few blogs talk about how cheap it can be to prep, living in a trailer off-grid, relying on old bolt-action rifles (nice, but unlikely to fit the bill for longer-term survival), etc. If you don’t have any dependents and already have a retreat stocked with most things you’d need, sure, it’s relatively cheap to prep.

For everyone else, I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice by skimping on some firearms accessories and not having a well outfitted BoB (Contrary to what some may say, IMO even if you have a squared away retreat, you need a good BoB, just in case. Just wait until the Golden Horde is at your gate – or a fast-moving fire is blowing towards it.)

Sometimes doing a lot of research and spending extra can make a big difference in the outcome.

The Survivalist Spectrum

If there is a societal collapse, I believe how we prepare now will have a profound impact on our options and chances for survival in the aftermath. This is my thinking-out-loud post trying to distill this idea.

Generally speaking, survivalists can be placed on something like the traditional political spectrum – let’s call it the survivalist spectrum – according to the types of preparations they tend to favor; sustainability on the far left and offensive/defensive firepower on the right. In the middle are moderates who balance their preparations. The two far ends may or may not equate to a survivalist’s views on the political spectrum, the comparison is mainly for illustrative purposes.

• The Left: Sustainability. The long-term or strategic aspect of food and/or energy resources. Primary focus on diverse food production, horticulture, stockpiling food (and learning to rotate/use those stockpiles), and general healthy living. Gardening skills, living frugally, and reorganizing living conditions to function without using more than one can produce.
• The Center. In the middle – the overlap – would be those who try to balance between the need to produce food, live a sustainable lifestyle (or be well prepared to do so), and acquire the weapons (and skill to use them) that will be of value in a collapse scenario.
• The Right: Firepower. The short and long-term aspect of tactical preparedness. Primary focus is on acquiring offensive and defensive skills and weapons – to include edged weapons, firearms, ammunition, and related gear – to ensure ones safety. Obtaining bug out gear and vehicles, learning patrol and reconnaissance tactics that will aid in retreat security.

This spectrum does not take into consideration preparations such of obtaining medical supplies and skills, communications equipment, physical fitness, etc. since, while also necessary, they generally aren’t mutually exclusive.

In the next day or two I’ll follow-up on how where one falls within this spectrum is likely to affect post-collapse options.

Snow Panic in DC and the Benefits of Prepping

The record-breaking snowstorm in the DC area this weekend caused a rush on supermarkets and hardware stores on Thursday and Friday morning. WTOP radio traffic news reported many area supermarket parking lots full by 0600 (helicopter report). Probably some of this can be attributed tot the fact that it’s a Super Bowl weekend and shopping would have been impossible today for most people.

I did go to a local store to pick up some salsa for the weekend – a want rather than a need. While we don’t have buckets of wheat and other long-term food supplies, we do have enough food for a few weeks in our pantry.

Luckily our power didn’t go out as it did for about 225,000 in the region, but if it did we’d get along fine since we have a fireplace, a gas range and water heater (a hot shower will heat you up fast), a propane grill, a couple of camp stoves with fuel, and a large supple of candles, flashlights and batteries, and appropriate bedding and clothing. If we had to have some electricity, I could run a power cord in from one of our vehicles using a 400W inverter. Or we could just go someplace else in either of our 4WD vehicles if we needed to.

We don’t have a generator or the longer-term food supplies mentioned above, but we’re relatively very well prepared for being snowed in for a weekend or a few weeks. Thinking about preparing for TEOTWAWKI has the side benefit of making events like this mostly a non-issue.

Update: The federal government was closed Monday and will be closed Tuesday after this storm. Snow stopped falling by Saturday evening, yet much of the region is still snowed in, public transportation is not fully functional, and apparently government parking lots aren’t yet cleared. Even with all the advance warning, and panic, this is the result.

Update 2: Gotta love this intro paragraph – italics mine:

Washington (CNN) — Federal workers and schoolchildren in the nation’s capital were told to stay home for a second day Tuesday as another major snowstorm barreled toward the region, which is still reeling from a weekend blizzard.

The Dulles Expo Center gun show

Today I went to the gunshow in Chantilly, Virginia, at the Dulles Expo Center. It runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but I live nearby so went today. The gunshow was a bit disappointing due to price gouging, but I did find what I was looking for.

I walked pretty much the entire building and didn’t see an AR-15 (.223/5.56) under about $799. Many very simple configurations were $1,000 or more. I call that price gouging since I know M4 configured ARs are being sold online for $600 and $669 – with FFL and shipping fees call it $650-$750. Kits can be had in that price range as well.

If someone with an FFL put together similar ARs and priced them at $750-850, there would be a LONG line, I’m sure. And the competition would cause other vendors to reduce prices.

At any rate, the doors opened at 1500 and there was already a line around the building. By 1600 there were lines at the tables with the best deals on ammo, though ammo is still unreasonably high.* Compared to current prices online, some deals were to be had due to the lack of taxes and shipping. I picked up:

• 1000 rounds of 9mm Luger for $250 (brass casings, lead core, ammo can included)
• 500 rounds of .223/5.56 for $180 (brass casings, lead core, ammo can included)
• 1725 rounds of .22 cal for $80

Also picked up some spare magazines for my 9mm and .22 pistols, two AR mags for the rifle I plan to buy, and a few other odds-n-ends. I’d liked to have spent more time (and money) there, but after three hours, it was time to go.

*I understand that the fear of what Obama and a democrat majority in congress might do has been causing prices to rise ever since the election, but it’s irrational. First, Obama is focused on other matters. Second, in the early 90s gun control legislation by democrats gave congress to the republicans in 1994. But if you want to target practice – and have a supply for SHTF scenarios – you have to pay to play.