Category: SHTF

Being Ready

SHTF, The Gun Thing

John Walters has posted his list of 10 essential guns that will help you survive the time when civilization starts to crumble and fall over.  His conclusion says it all:

Ten guns.  Thousands of dollars.  Hundreds of training hours.  This isn’t hobbyism.  It’s insurance against hard times, written in steel and gunpowder.  My uncle understood what I’m only now fully grasping: preparation becomes necessity without announcement, and those ready sleep while others pace in darkness.

Acquire these tools.  Learn them.  Maintain them against the day when phones die and police stop coming.  That day approaches regardless of elections or economic indicators.

Civilization persists where force maintains it.  Ensure you possess sufficient force.

I think that everyone who visits my website with any regularity will be familiar with the concept, because I’ve been hammering on about it for over two decades.

As for his list, I have no problem with anything he says, because his rationale is well supported by common sense.  (I may disagree with a couple of his specific guns, of course, as may any one of you, but that’s absolutely unimportant:  the category and the need they address are well stated.  Also, some of the categories kinda overlap, but that’s also not a major fault:  there’s nothing wrong with a little redundancy, as any fule kno.)

  1. Pump Shotgun: 12-Gauge
  2. AR-15 Platform
  3. Service Pistol: .45 ACP Long-Range
  4. Hunter: .30-06 Springfield
  5. Rimfire Battery: .22 LR
  6. Concealed Companion: Subcompact 9mm
  7. Battle Rifle: 7.62x51mm NATO
  8. Revolver: .357 Magnum
  9. Tactical Shotgun: Semi-Automatic 12-Gauge
  10. Precision Instrument: Bolt-Action .308

One could argue that the “hunter” (.30-06) and “battle rifle “(7.62x51mm) could be addressed by the same rifle (e.g. an M1 Garand), and the “hunter” likewise with the “precision instrument” (e.g. a scoped Mauser in [pick one]  chambering).  As I said, there’s some overlap.

Interestingly, I am deficient in both shotgun categories — I don’t own a shotgun of any description at the moment — and I don’t really have a subcompact handgun either.  (If Clint Smith carries two 1911s, I see no reason why I shouldn’t, or else carry two .357 Mag/.38 Special revolvers, as I sometimes do.)  And really, those handguns are just there to buy me the time to get to the trunk of my car, where Hell Awaits To Be Unleashed™.

I am also somewhat leery of the “precision instrument”, mostly because my eyesight is becoming so crap that any shot needing to be made over 400 (300 even?) yards would see me seeking deep cover or retreating instead.  (I do have a decent precision/hunting rifle or two, of course, but I’m no longer confident of my ability to reach out and touch anyone further out than the above, with any degree of confidence.)

I’m getting to the point, in other words, where my “hunter”, “battle” and “precision instrument” categories will soon be blended into a .357 Magnum lever rifle (with an old Ruger/S&W revolver as a companion piece when it comes to halitosis-range combat).

But don’t let me be a downer:  get out there and do as the man says.  Practice till you can’t practice anymore, and then practice again and again, as often as you can.

Your life may well depend on it.

SHTF List, U.K. Style

SHTF

Here ya go:

Missing, of course, is any mention of firearms (to deter goblins and scumbags from relieving people from their generator, water, food and all the other stuff).

But speaking of stuff:  I estimate that this little list is about 10% of what you would really need should ol’ El Niño come a-calling.  (We’ll ignore for the moment that El Niño poses little danger to Britishland.  Their biggest danger will be that their own government’s actions are likely to cause total social- and infrastructure collapse.)

Anyway:  feel free to list the most egregious omissions, in Comments.

That One Thing (Part 2)

SHTF

Yesterday’s post about surviving on a deserted island with only one thing created quite a stir in Comments.

I’m going to take issue with something GT3Ted said:

“If you’ve ever tried to actually use one of those multi-function pocket knives, you would that although it promises to be able to do all sorts of things, it does none of them well, and most of them are completely useless,” and “A proper size survival knife with some weight and strength with a sheath and an included flint and sharpener.”

Well, I have actually used a Swiss Army knife, several times, both on Boy Scout trips with the Son&Heir, and on a couple of Army situations.  Both involved being in the middle of nowhere, with limited resources.

The point of survival revolves around two activities (other than feeding yourself and making or finding shelter):  husbanding your energy and being able to take care of small tasks and emergencies.

Here’s what I know about the Swiss Army Champ:

  • The steel used in all real Swiss Army knives is superb.  It holds an edge very well, and is remarkably strong and reluctant to break, provided that you’re reasonably careful.  I typically use the smaller blade for all small cutting and whittling tasks, saving the bigger blade for tasks that require a bigger blade — and there aren’t that many, by the way.
  • That little saw blade makes mincemeat of any branch or young tree trunk.  Try cutting any wood thicker than your wrist with a knife, any knife, and you’ll find it takes a long time (and energy).  You’ll also need that (included?) sharpener (if you’re allowed to take one, that is), because nothing dulls a blade like chopping wood;  ask me how I know this.  That saw on the Champ?  Cuts through anything, pretty much, with very little effort.
  • The magnifying glass starts a fire in about 30 seconds, and requires no skill — very much unlike trying to start a fire with a flint.  Just try using a flint — or watch any of the “Survival” TV shows — to see how time-consuming and frustrating fire-starting with that method is.  And yes, the glass only works in daytime:  try using a flint to start a fire in pitch darkness, I dare you.
  • Ever got a splinter in your hand or finger, and left it alone for a while?  Yep, it starts to fester, and quickly.  So you’ve got to get it out ASAP, and all you have is a bush knife?  Good luck with that.  The Swiss Army Champ has not only tweezers, but pliers as well.
  • Speaking of the pliers:  good luck getting that rotting tooth out of your mouth with a bush knife.  (Once again, see how Tom Hanks had to do it on his deserted island.)  Now add a few more tasks that are made easier with pliers and are almost impossible with a large knife, and you’ll get my drift.
  • To avoid rotting teeth, by the way, you’ll need to clean them after every meal.  Well, you can use your finger, of course, but the problem lies with those little bits of food stuck between your teeth.  Oh wait, what’s that?  The Champ has a toothpick tucked away in the handle?  Yeah, picking your teeth with a machete or bush knife is not a pleasant prospect, even assuming you can get the blade into your mouth without turning your face into the Joker’s.
  • Assume you have coconut trees on your island.  With that big survival knife, you’re as likely to cut the shell open and lose half the coconut milk in the process.  Sure, the islanders make it look simple and easy;  but that’s all they do, day after day.  Someone who doesn’t is going to make a big mess and waste a lot of time and energy.  Now that little spike (awl) on the Champ?  It makes two small, neat holes (once again without too much effort), so that you can pour the milk through one into your mouth without losing any (the air flows in through the other so that it pours smoothly).  I’ve done it myself, several times, and it works.
  • And if you need to sew anything (using stripped bark or lianas or whatever), that same spike has a little hole that you can use for thread.  Granted, it’s not perfect;  but your One Thing probably wouldn’t be a Bernina anyway.

Which, I think, is the whole point about a general-purpose tool like the Champ.  Granted, it doesn’t do anything very well;  but it does a whole lot of things reasonably well — and those things might make a huge difference to your chances of survival.

I cannot tell you how many times people asked me to borrow my Champ during the two activities I described above, to take care of one thing or another.  In every case, I refused to lend it to them, but did the tasks myself (I was not going to risk having the Champ broken by some heavy-handed Boy Scout or troopie.)  (Aside:  Swiss Army knives are streng verboten  in Boy Scouts because they don’t have locking blades.  Yeah, you have to be a little careful when using them.  Welcome to Grown-Up World.)

So I’m not saying that a large bush knife is a Bad Thing — anything but — but I prefer versatility in a situation that is likely to throw multiple problems at you.

By the way:  I found yet another Champ — in my gun bag — yesterday, so that brings the total I own to five.  Too many?  I don’ theenk so, Pedro.

Scenes From A House

SHTF, The Gun Thing

…in the Doc Russia Crisis Center:

It’s kinda the same in Kim’s Bunker, except that there’s a flashlight or two next to every “home defense” firearm, i.e. no further than arm’s reach regardless of my location in the house.

I don’t have a flashlight attached to any of my firearms.  No big reason;  I just don’t see the need to identify my position if I’m about to activate the bang switch.  YMMV, and that’s fine — there’s no need for debate on the issue, because I can see both sides of the argument.  It’s just a personal preference.

I might change my opinion in the case of the Poodleshooter Piece:

…but I’m still debating the issue with myself.  Frankly, I can’t see a situation developing (for me) in which some serious* anti-social night-time activity might become necessary;  but I’m not closing my mind to the eventuality, either.

*that can’t be handled by half a dozen or so rounds of .45 ACP or .357 Magnum, I mean.

Hollies

SHTF

No, not the 60s Brit vocal band.  I refer here to that ancient bed warmer known as the hot water bottle.

With the advent of electricity, the humble hot water bottle (known to many from childhood as a “holly-bolly” or the derivations thereof) fell from favor, hanging on mostly as a palliative for things like muscle strains and sports injuries (filled either with hot- or icy water, depending on need), and the world switched to electric blankets and so on.

Well, this is all well and good;  but when the electricity fails, what then?

One of the SHTF necessities I’ve mentioned often before is a butane-powered camping stove, or its smaller (and cheaper) domestic equivalent like this one:

You can of course go with the two-burner Coleman type (which is better if you’re needing to cater to a family, for instance), but I’ve always found the single to be perfectly adequate, plus it’s safer to use indoors for short periods.

Now what does this have to do with the holly?

Well, coupled with a camp kettle:

…this means that when the power goes and you don’t have access to any other heat source like a fireplace or gas heater, all you need to do is heat up some water on the camp stove, fill the holly and huddle under the blanket / duvet / whatever to keep warm.

I know, this sounds so self-evident that it invites ridicule;  but at the same time, back in 2015 when most of Texas was without electricity for nearly three weeks(!), our family was caught short in the personal-heating department because we had no hot water bottles.  (Of course, we had lots of electric blankets and foot warmers, a leftover from our sojourn in Chicago;  but in Chicago they can handle brutal winters.  Texas?  Not so much, thanks for nothing ERCOT.)

New Wife and I have one each, and when this cruel winter is over I’m going to get another two.  (Why?  Because two is one and one is none, that’s why.  And hollies wear out, especially when you fill it with very hot water — that rubber perishes, ask me how I know this.)

Yet another example of how sometimes, the old things just work better when modernity comes up short.

Thoughts On That Poodleshooter Post

SHTF, The Gun Thing

My acquisition of an AR-15 “pistol” (above) generated more than a few comments, but the one that interested me the most was this one:

Your friends are logically planning for group support. They’ve got your back, and you’ve got theirs. 

Armies standardize platforms and calibers for a reason. Sometimes, that’s a compromise.

The scenario in question is a group defensive action, and one of you runs out of ammo. If it’s you, and you’re the one shooting .375 H&H, you’re just outta luck. If it’s your best friend, and all you’ve got is 7.62×39, he’s dead. Because you won’t give up your outdated niche calibers.

Harsh, but true.

Then again, I remember back when 7.62x51mm NATO was the mainstream, and the .223 Rem was the varmint-appropriate “niche caliber”.  But that’s not the point.

Frankly, knowing my friends as I do, if there were any suggestion of a “group defensive action”, I know that each of them has at least one “spare” AR-15 poodleshooter to hand me, and let’s just say a sufficiency of ammo to share (actually, they singly and collectively have enough ammo for about a company of troops let alone just me, but let’s not go there).  I think we’re covered, in that regard.  (Oh, and by the way, if they happen to be at my place when the SHTF, let’s just say that I have the means to do the same for them, just with a sufficiency of 7.62x39mm as the “common” ammo, and the necessary guns to shoot them.)

What worries me is if I’m flying solo in a SHTF scenario.  In that dismal eventuality, the ammo-intensive “spray and pray” mindset is never going to be an option for me — my habit of “making every shot count” dates back at least half a century, and is unlikely ever to change. And I practice, endlessly, to ensure that I have the ability to support such an activity.

In that scenario, my go-to gun — if I have the time to make the choice — is always going to be an AK / SKS-type rather than an AR simply because when it comes to self-defense, I always want to be absolutely confident in my weapons.

I ditched carrying 9mm pistols for that precise reason — because I always felt “under-gunned” with the High Power despite its 15-round mag —  and now I carry only 1911s or (if I’m feeling like a change) a .357 Mag revolver.  And I understand that in these modern times, both of these gun types are “quantity-deficient”, ammo-wise.  To compensate for that, I just have to carry sufficient backup magazines / speedloaders (which I do) and practice reloading of same, which I also do;  the latter activity for something like an hour every single day of the work week, using empty mags and / or dummy ammo for obvious reasons.

As for the long gun option:  rest assured that my pack-out ammo load is sufficient to inflict a considerable reduction of numbers in any goblin horde I may encounter.  And I don’t want to wound or incapacitate said goblins, or shoot to make them keep their heads down or chase them away or whatever;  in that final extreme, if I’m really going to be forced to shoot, then I want fucking death to occur at the naughty end of my firearm.

And my caliber choices reflect that mindset.

Now all that said, as I think about this issue, there is a definite reason to keep the AR-15 pistol:  as a practice tool if ever I’m going to be forced into a “group defensive action” with my buddies.  It’s all very well to have a spare gun handed to you, but it’s useless if you don’t know how to work the damn thing.

So I guess it’s probably going to stay in Ye Olde Gunne Sayfe.  But we’ll see… because if we’re looking at a small carbine (which is what the AR-15 pistol really is), then all sorts of options come into play — such as this lovely thing.

And everyone — my friends as much or more so than many — will have some .45 ACP lying around.

By the way, that insistence on ammo compatibility does not extend to our handguns.  Doc carries something chambered in 10mm (because he’s a big, tough guy — no sarcasm or irony, he really is), and CC (who is also big and tough) carries either a 9mm pistol or occasionally a .357 Mag snubbie revolver.  Interestingly enough, on a day to day carry basis I think I actually carry more spare ammo on hand than they do.  And in a SHTF scenario, I almost certainly have more backup .45 ACP mags than either of them have for their carry guns.