More on .22 Rimfires

You have a .22 rifle in hand and your wondering what to do with it. Practice, Practice, Practice. That's what makes the rim fire so nice over any other caliber. By practicing, not only are you familiarizing yourself with that rifle, but you are honing your shooting skills for any rifle you may pick up. Light recoil, fairly low noise, and inexpensive ammo means you can shoot all day. The basics are always the same. Sight picture, trigger squeeze, breathing, all the fundamentals apply to nearly every rifle. If you are not familiar with firearms, then I HIGHLY recommend you take a class from a qualified instructor. Many shops in my area offer FREE classes if you buy a firearm from them, but a good basic class should not cost much over $35 a person.
Another excellent way to hone your shooting skills is by attending an Appleseed event. This program is aimed from the beginner to the advanced shooter and will help turn you from a simple gun owner to a true marksman. Events are held all over the country, and you can find the schedule at the link above.
Now the first thing allot of people do when they buy a new rifle is slap a scope on top of it, a fancy sling with shell holders, picattiny rails, compensator, strobe lights, lasers and anything else that looks cool in the catalog. My first question is "Why???". There are legitimate uses for each of these items, but for the average person, your only adding weight and more things to go wrong in a given situation.
A scope can be helpful, but use a mount that still enables you to use the iron sights. Finding a target in a scope can take precious seconds you don't have. Hunting grouse with my .22, I've been unable to find my mark through the scope in heavy brush, even though it looks obvious to my naked eye. Leave the scopes for the rifles you plan to use for 200 meters or more. Before adding any accessory, ask yourself, "When am I going to need it and will I be at a severe disadvantage without it?". Decide what you plan to use that weapon for: Hunting, self defence, etc. and outfit the gun accordingly. All the items I mentioned earlier may be useful if you think you will need to clear a building of "Commie, caniball looters", but not for shooting squirrels to eat tonight.
Dead Reckoning is your best sighting technique. Look at a picture on the wall about 20 feet away. Now close your eyes and point at that picture. When you open your eyes, you finger should be on, or damn close to that picture. That is dead reckoning. This same principle can be applied to a firearm, both pistols and rifles. The instructor that taught me this technique could shoot one asprin tablet after another out of the air with a Colt 1911 pistol. He started me off with an old Daisy cocking B-B gun with a block of wood duct taped to the top making sighting impossible. Repeatability is the key. Shot after shot at 5 gallon bucket lid, then a coffee can lid, then a clay pigeon that he tossed in the air 10 feet in front of me. Eventually moving to a .22 rifle, and then a .223, while the distances kept increasing as well. I still have a long, long way to go to be in the same class as him.
When you shoulder that weapon, it should feel like an extension of your body, just like pointing your finger, and you KNOW where that projectile will hit. Practice, Practice, Practice.

Now What?

Your "Bug-out" bag is sitting in the hallway closet, and you feel fairly confident that with its contents you can survive for at least 3 days. Now What? Realistically, where would you be in 72 hours and what if your stay was extended longer than that?
It is for this reason that I never go hiking, hunting, or camping without a .22 rim fire rifle at hand. This is, in MY opinion, the handiest tool you can can have, and should be the FIRST firearm purchase you should make for survival reasons.

My reasoning behind this? First off, ammo is cheap. You can buy thousands of rounds at a time without raising suspicions. Secondly, it is good for all kinds of game from ground squirrels and tweety birds to coyotes. I have even seen a well placed shot from a .22 rifle bring down a deer, although I do NOT recommend doing this unless you are in a desperate situation. Third, it COULD be used as a self defense weapon if no other firearm is available (again, not recommended). Now, don't think that with a good rifle of any caliper your going to be eating good indefinitely, but a .22 will help to supplement any other food sources you may come across.

I recommend a bolt action, magazine or tube fed rifle. Why bolt action? Because I've found through my own experience and from raising my boys, that a bolt action is safer, more accurate,very reliable and because one has the tendency to take careful aim with a single shot over a semi-automatic.
The semi-automatics, such as the Ruger 10/22 are EXCELLENT rifles, but all semi-automatics "automatically" chamber another round after firing, thus an excited (or extremely hungry) hunter has a tendency to leave a live round in a rifle after making a kill and forgets to put the safety on. Also, I have seen excited hunters shoot a dead animal until the magazine of the weapon is empty because of adrenaline. We call that "Buck Fever".
Now the Charter Arms AR-7 "Explorer" that I carry in my pack is NOT reliable or accurate. Its simply there because its a lightweight backup to anything else I hope to be carrying if I need it.

What about water? You can survive allot longer without food than you can water. And It is impractical to carry more than a few quarts of water. There are allot of portable water filters on the market and the price ranges vary from $10 to several 100. I've used 2 different types, both inexpensive and both work good. The first type consists of a small hand pump with two hoses. On the end of one hose, a small filter is attached about the size of half a beer can. the other hose fits into your water container. As you draw on the pump, it pulls water through the filter and then pushes it into your container. Its fairly light, takes up a little space, but its only draw back is that you need enough water to submerge the filter into for it to work. The other type looks like a straw with a little filter on the end. It comes in its own case that can be used to fill water from very small sources and you simply drink the water through the straw. The larger filter is nice if you need to fill any size of container, as it is fairly fast. The smaller one can be kept in your shirt pocket like a pen and used as needed. Both are excellent to have.

Now any water filter can filter out the microbes and moose turds, but they will not kill all the bacteria. Its a good idea to add a drop of everyday chlorine bleach to every gallon and let it sit for at least an hour. An eyedropper bottle works great for this and can be kept with your filter.

More on Circles

So now you have a basement full of mac & cheese. Now what? Well, I guess the first thing you should ask yourself is "To flee or not to flee"? Each of us has to look around us and think of every possible situation that could occur. The popular thought right now is a complete economic collapse is coming. This is a possibility, but not the only one. If you live in a major city, a terrorist chemical or biological attack is a possibility as well. Floods, fires, hurricanes, or other major disasters may dislodge you from your home. Each of us has different circumstances, but any of us, for a number of reasons, may have to "bug out" and leave our home behind.

Its for this reason that I recommend putting together a "bug-out bag". Ideally, this bag would be a backpack with everything you need for a minimum of 3 days. Food, water, a sleeping bag, any medications you need to have, and a means of making a fire. If you don't have a backpack, then a "tupper-tote" or even a 5 gallon bucket will do. Keep this packed, one for each member of your family and keep it in an easily accessible place where it can be grabbed in a moments notice. Now if you have the room, and can comfortably carry the weight for an extended period of time, you may want to add a few other necessities to make life a little more enjoyable. Toilet paper, an extra change of warm clothing, a knife, and some light cord, rope or wire are few good examples. Remember to not over do it. This is supposed to be just a bare necessities bag, easily transportable. I've been with guys whose "bug-out bags" have weighed over 75 pounds, and after just a few hundred yards up hill, they are looking for things to throw out of the bag to lighten the load. Once you have everything you think you'll need, take it for a hike. After packing it for a few miles you'll definitely know if you have too much.

So what do I have in my bag? I carry 3 military MRE meals (Meal, Ready to Eat) which can be picked up at most good Army surplus stores for about $8.00 each. I have a small pocket water purification kit. An all weather sleeping bag in a waterproof cover, a 2 man dome tent, a magnesium fire starter and tinder kit, a canteen, a "leather-man" type tool, a compass, a basic first aid kit, 50' of parachute cord and a .22 rifle with a box of shells. There is a also a zip-lock bag with toilet tissue, instant coffee, and waterproof matches. The rifle is an AR-7, designed for the Air Force, it collapses into its own stock and floats. Very lightweight and cost me around $100 at a Pawn Shop. Mine was made by Charter Arms, but Henry Rifles is building them now and I'm seeing them new for under $150.

Time to Get Started

I've just finished reading the Novel "Patriots: surviving the coming collapse" by James Wesley Rawles, and it has inspired me to begin working on this Blog again. I am not inspired because of the content of that book, but inspired to write and share what I know because of the LACK of content in that book.
Once again, I feel this is the difference between a "Survivalist" and a "Realist". Mr. Rawles goes into great detail on how to set up ambushes, how to build explosives, and how to pretend that the world will be a better place once our entire Country collapses. To me, I did not read a single usefull bit of information that would help one "Survive" a complete collapse of modern civilization.
If you have a million dollars burning a hole in your pocket to buy "survival equipment", don't need a job and can move anywhere you want, want to live in a barracaded fortress, and you have the expectations that IF the world as we know it were to end tommorow, that you are going to pick up your assault rifle, and rid the world of "Commie, canibal looters" then you are in the wrong place.
So lets get started. When thinking of a Realistic Survival plan, I think of it in terms of spaces. You start in a circle with only YOU in it. That circle is comprised of everything YOU need to survive RIGHT NOW and the circle represents your way of protecting everything within it. That circle is always your number one priority and always the one to fall back on. Your "rallying point" per say. What you need to survive right now is usually food, water, and shelter. These needs change for each situation, but for the most part, these are the basic needs of most individuals. As you fill these needs, you deepen your circle, you go from RIGHT NOW to FROM NOW ON. Most of us have the RIGHT NOW already taken care of. Its the FROM NOW ON that is the problem. A sandwich from the fridge takes care of right now, but a few days from now is what this is all about.
As you widen your circle, you encompass the next important things to you. For me, this is my family. What do I need in that circle to protect them and ensure their survival? If you live alone, then this could be your home. Your circle would be about protecting that home.
Your priority should be to make each circle as deep as possible, meaning that as you can afford it, buy more of what you need right now for FROM NOW ON.
An example. I like Macaroni and Cheese. I can buy a box it for right now OR I can buy a case of it when its on sale. Now I have Mac & Cheese for a week or so. The shelf life of Mac & Cheese is about 2 years, (I'll go more into this later) so I can buy lots and lots of it. As long as I'm eating it, I don't have to worry about how much to buy and how long it will last before going bad. The key to this way of thinking is ROTATION. If you buy several cases of it over an extended period of time, use what expires first and replace what you use. Once you do this for awhile, it becomes easy. Remember, be REALISTIC. Dont buy food you wont eat, and don't buy more than you can eat before it expires.
Back to the circles. Your first circle is you, and each succeding circle is the next priority in your life. Your family, your home, your property etc. To be a "Survivalist" means to survive, and as each circle grows, your means of survival should grow with it.

To Stand or Retreat...?

A common question I ask myself should "something" happen is..stay put or retreat. I guess to answer this question, one would have to answer what that "something" is. Where I live, in Northern Idaho, my biggest concern is fallout from Seattle, Portland or Spokane Washington. I don't necessarily mean Nuclear Fallout, fallout could be a mass exodus from those cities-west. With a major interstate running nearly through my back yard, and living approximately one full tank of gas away from Seattle, I feel this is a major concern for me to consider when debating on when to defend what is mine.

In 1982, during the Mt. St. Helen blowup, my property took a heavy hit from the ash, leading me to believe that in the unlikely event that Seattle or Portland take a major hit, that I would receive at least some fallout of the Nuclear type as well. Spokane is no longer considered a primary target since they moved the bombers out, but that by no means makes it less of a consideration on my part.

Economic collapse, all out war, chemical or biological threats, hurricanes, or floods. Each one of us has to determine the threats most likely to effect them, and the best way to handle them. To stand or retreat.

To make that decision, each of us has to look at the event that each individual feels is the most likely event to directly effect their way of life and prepare for that event first. If you live near a river that is prone to flooding, you wouldn't plan to stand by filling your basement with supplies.

A Realist should look at every concievable event and ranks them in order of "likely to happen". In Northern Idaho, I have very little concern for a tornado, but being snowed in in November is a very real concern for my family.

After ranking each event, then you have to decide what you would need to prepare to stand through that event and what you would need to retreat from that event. Weigh each option, provisions for holding out vs. a public shelter or a secondary holdout point such as an in-law down south ect.

My Credentials

So, anyone who may eventually follow this may wonder what right I have to write on anything on this subject.
My credentials are, I grew up in the mountains of Northern Idaho. Hunting and fishing were everyday occurances, not because my parents had jobs that allowed this, but because the silver mines here were shutting down and nearly everyone was unemployed. We hunted and fished to actually supplement our food instead of for pleasure. We camped in old canvas tents for most of the summer because the electricity and water were shut off at our house.
I remember a few late nights when my dad would drive up to the back door at midnight, unload a deer on the back porch, and then proceed to gut and quarter it in the bathtub of the house. As kids, we never knew the word "poaching", to us, Dad brought home meat! To get through the winters, dad raised rabbits out in the garage and mom became inventive as hell on different ways to cook it. Fried Rabbit, rabbit cassorole, bunny McNuggets and thumper kabobs.
As a teenager, I grew up under the shadow of the Cold War, and movies like Red Dawn were our anthem. My friends and I would patrol the local hills, burying caches of ammo, food, and other survival items for the day that the Reds attacked. I imagine those caches are still up there somewhere.
After graduating from High School, I had dreams of joining the Green Berets. I joined the U.S. Army and served from 1988 to 1992 as a Combat MP in a STRAF Unit.
Let me define those last two terms. "COMBAT MP" No, not the guys that you see on TV with white gloves and a billy clib in one hand walking the beaches or breaking up fights at the NCO club. Although there were times that we had that duty, Combat MP's are trained for urban combat. House to house fighting. We also did POW transport, Riot Control, and security for Major Supply Routes.
Now on to the definition of STRAF. The military defines it as "Strategic Army Forces". To us, it meant anywhere in the world in 72 hours or less. Whereever the world had trouble, my small unit of about 130 soilders was usually there in timely order to be the bastard child to whatever Battalion was being deployed there. In my 5 years, I seen Germany, Belgium, Egypt, Panama (twice), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. I just missed deployments to Honduras, Cuba, and some Caribian island nailed by Hurrican. I also helped provide security for the first President Bush Innogeration parade in Wash, DC., and fullfilled my MP duty's at Ft Belvoir, Ft. Myers and Arlington Cemetary.
Our Units Moto was "Train to be Miserable", and our West Point Honor Graduate Commander made sure we did.
Shortly after I ETD'd, (ended my tour of duty), My unit was offically named the "Dogs of War" by the President of the United States, then disbanded.
As for joining the Speical Forces....seems you have to be able to swim 100 meters or so in full gear as the Pre-test to be able to take the test. After nearly drowning several times, I was deemed to be a "1 in 7" that has no natrual boyancy. So ending my dream.
After the Military, I moved with my family back to Northern Idaho, where I have worked hard to build my family a modest home with a modest income. I still hunt and fish and have instilled that in my 3 now teenage boys.
I dont live every day like tommorow is the end of the world, but the planning has been there in the things we do and the plans we make.
There you have it. I found it is possible to be Realistic on a budget. I dont own the best that money can buy, but I would bet my life on most of the equipment I own.

Survival, Retreat, and Realism

First off, I'd like to explain the title of this....blog. I have long been an observer of the survival-retreaters "movement". They say that a glass half filled with water could also be said to be half empty. I say that a glass half full of water could keep you alive for days and the glass itself could be used as a weapon in a pinch. You don't need to buy the most expensive glass, nor do you need to make sure the water is purefied before you drink it. A realist makes due with what is at hand, and with what they can afford. Long have I read through magazines or seen online the thousand dollar rifles to defend yourselves, or the freeze dried food to store in your basement until the EOTWAWKI (End of the World as We Know It).
My hope through this blog is to share some of my personal experience through years of barely getting by, as well as my years in the military. Those that read this may have better suggestions, and I'm always open to hearing them. The theme here though is to make due with what most of us can afford and what we may actually use. I would love to have a Hk417 tucked away with a couple thousand rounds of ammo....realistically, I refuse to pay more for a rifle than I do for the car I need to drive to work everyday. I would love to have a 3 year supply of freeze dried food tucked away in my "underground shelter"....realistically, I keep food that I know my family and I will actually eat and like and I rotate it on a regular basis by actually eating it instead of watching the expiration day and throwing it out. I'll get more into these later, in the mean time, drop me an e-mail if you subscribe to this thought, I'd love to hear from a few more "Realists" out there.