Reading through this draft copy of a free chapter from the upcoming book Preparedness Pays, we noticed some remarkable things. The willingness to have a sense of humor and also go slow in prepping is essential. Fear drives errors, causing waste monetarily and time in do-overs. Worse yet, nobody wants to find a mistake to be evident when finally needing preps.

It’s good to read material that challenges our present assertions. This is what mature adults do in order to hone themselves by adjusting to new information. That last sentence seems weird to have to say, but here we are in 2022. It’s only a sample chapter, and possibly later, more is discussed along the lines of Solutions Based Prepping, but we found object-based prepping to be less adaptable and flexible.

A couple of examples of Solutions Based Prepping are in order. A person needs hand tools. An electric screwgun, however, can drive screws. The object only has one purpose. But when looking for solutions, it can drive screws into wood or metal. It can also remove screws. It’s usable not only on living structures but other structures, vehicles, heavy equipment, and light machines. When pressed by circumstances, humans with practical knowledge and learning in the use of rotating hand tools of all types will find solutions-based usages never before thought of for devices. This is the value of head knowledge to expand practical use applications when a result is needed. Humans are clever with their hands; this is why.

A second example is growing food. Where the author thinks of people and food, we think of solutions; food growing. Farming is not only about feeding people. Some are canned/preserved for later, and some can be used to feed protein animals. Some can be given in goodwill to neighbors for their rabbits in hopes of establishing a relationship. If things go well, that relationship may revolve around prepping and could even grow to mutual aid or security support. Perhaps you’ll come up with a barter exchange? But even if a relationship doesn’t bud, they’ll hesitate to shoot you, but most importantly, God will see the gift and bless you in abundance returning the benefit. Worse comes to worst; throw extra food on a compost heap or leave the corners of your garden not gleening in full all of the bounty; allowing some seed to return to the ground will be blessed by God. Those are just a few solutions-based things you can do with a garden.

So instead of thinking about feeding a cow, a pig, rabbits, 12 chickens, and six people with separate food sources, you can start doing arithmetic for items of dietary overlap. We know you engineering types are out there, doing preps by math; you’re not fooling us! Heh.

Like the screwgun, having a garden in abundance gives you solutions for problems you may not yet perceive. A person needs tools and food. Tools and food solve a myriad of possible problems and those yet unseen while opening many potential doors.

The sample chapter also got us thinking about proximity to disaster, natural or man-made—the proximity of distance and time matters. Take Ukraine’s inability to grow food right now. Food inflation is spreading globally due to supply-demand dislocations in the market. Ukraine is far away geographically from the US, so the effects are growing more slowly here than in Europe, and the closer to the war, the bigger the problem of cost to supply. But there’s also a time factor. In a free market, we in the US wouldn’t worry much about the lack of foodstuffs grown in Ukraine, but we don’t have a free market. Farmers would crank out food to profit from these higher prices, but the US agriculture industry is so heavily regulated by multiple agencies that current markets don’t work to fill supply for growing demand. Even if regulation was much lower, time to fill gaps in supply at higher prices is still a factor. Some disasters are very long in the making.

Waiting for “somebody” to “solve” Ukraine and US regulatory problems is a terrible plan; having local food sources, teams, friends, neighbors, barter, co-ops, etc., is much needed.

Instead of buying things, start building and making things! This will prepare your mind and hands for leaner times to come. The closer your sources for all necessities in both time needed to produce and geographic distance, the more control you’ll have over resolutions for your immediate area and family.

None of this is a knock on the chapter; it got our mental juices flowing, which is a good thing; we look forward to the book. You can approach your preparations as solutions based using the book’s eight objects. That might help to find weaknesses that need addressing, further adjusting to what works while rounding out approaches so as to not miss critical sources and needs.

One thing we don’t like is scenario-driven prepping. Though examples and illustrations are important, planning for certain contingencies is even more spending and stockpiling-intensive than object-based prepping alone. Having said that, we’ll again offer this very simple Risk Matrix to help get started or find solutions when getting stuck about how to proceed. But also consider the geographical distance from source problems and time factors to tribulation development in your risk assessments.

Note about food and debt: US grocery stores are still throwing away tons (actual) of fruits and vegetables daily. The restaurants, at least in this area, are still packed even at these higher prices. It’s shocking the lack of foresight and acceptance about what’s happening, and therefore it’s no wonder credit card debt is rising sharply. We’re blessed with abundance, but debt is not abundance; it’s a liability. Do yourself a long-term favor, trust your gut about what’s happening, cut out the extras and avoid debt.

“If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.” – Deuteronomy 22:6-7

Don’t overtax the land that you’ve been blessed with; it’s God’s, not yours. Prolong your days that it may go well with thee.

Somebody will object and say; we’re under grace and not under the law. Well, just keep industrial farming, relying on chemical fertilizers, gleaning one hundred percent of every field every season, never rotating crops, and not leaving some ground fallow for a year on a rotating basis. It’ll be apparent one day soon: God will rest His land if modernity won’t.

We wonder if Herschel has made the pilgrimage to Stoner’s gravesite. OTOH, we probably shouldn’t joke about this; avoiding a pay cut from Herschel seems prudent right now.

This is yet another interesting video from Target Suite.

I do have a personal interest in this issue.  I was previously wondering if having a Marlin Model 336 30-30 and Marlin Model 336 in 35 Remington is redundant.  I also stumbled across this article in American Hunter magazine.

Which is the more useful cartridge? Of the two, which serves the hunter better? Traditionally, the tubular magazines of the popular lever-rifles restricted the cartridges to using round or flat-point bullets, to avoid the possibility of magazine detonation, should a pointed spitzer bullet hit the primer of the cartridge ahead of it in the magazine. The exception to that rule is Hornady’s LeveRevolution ammo line, which uses a pliable tip on a spitzer bullet to afford a much flatter trajectory in both cartridges. With the traditional loads, the .30-30 will drive its 150- and 170-grain bullets to a muzzle velocity of 2400 and 2250 fps respectively, while the .35 Remington launches its 180- and 200-grain bullets at 2100 and 2080 fps. Both generate between 1,800 and 1,900 ft.-lbs. of muzzle energy with traditional loads, and the hot-rod LeveRevolution will certainly offer an improvement in ballistic figures, but the advancements are parallel between the two cartridges.

I did find it a bit amusing at about the 6:20 mark.  He should have left the stated value of 35% alone without “correction” in the video.  Comparison of areas would be done by the square of the radius: (0.358)^2 / (0.308)^2 ≈ 1.35.

Please weigh in with comments.  Do readers have a preference for 35 Remington over the 30-30, or vice versa, or none at all?  Then again, fine gentlemen of find upbringing have fine weapons, and there shouldn’t be a problem with a collection where both calibers are a part of it.

Never forget Donald J. Trump shut down the economy. And it’s “almost” as if his announcement to run for president is perfectly timed to get you to waste another two years in false hope for a human savior. Right when you realized that the entire system was lost to corruption and you were about to do amazing things to change the world around you, galvanized to take charge of all that you can, a shiny trinket of distraction is dangled in your eye. Instead of being the man you could be learning and teaching and training your family, church, or team, and growing your local group in the depth of understanding and trust for each other, honing skills and adding critical knowledge and infrastructure, they want you well distracted by politics.

Source:

According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), there’s still very little relief in the supply pipeline for components needed to complete manufacturing and farming equipment. Consequently, there are “nearly complete” pieces of farm and construction equipment sitting on manufacturing lots waiting for components. For some, they may be as basic as a 7-pin connector for wiring harnesses. Others parts, some ordered more than a year ago, still haven’t shown up on “shipped” reports.

Some companies, like farm equipment manufacturer Unverferth has gone so far as to create “rework teams” whose jobs are to add missing components to machines that have been languishing in storage. Others have procurement staff scouring sources for acceptable component replacements.

Dealers are still battling shortages in tires, steel components and computer chips for existing customers’ equipment.

According to AEM, the situation was supposed to have improved by now, but hasn’t. They add that while it’s bad for farm equipment, it’s even worse for construction equipment. More than 95% of their members say they’re experiencing “major” supply chain issues.

If that’s not enough, suppliers and manufacturers are getting slammed with major price increases. And salaries and bonuses have also had to rise in order to get/keep factory workers.

Consequently, used farm equipment is selling at an all-time high.

A farmer with seldom-used equipment can quickly turn that gear into the cash needed to acquire equipment that’s really needed. The downside is that the “used iron” is also pricey- and getting even more so the longer shortages exist.

Farmers, being very experienced with market realities, are very aware that being forced to pay a premium for used equipment today doesn’t guarantee that same price stability a month from now. If the supply chain eases, demand for used gear will slow- and prices will fall.

So they’re following the advice Amazon’s Jeff Bezos shared last week: if you can hold off purchases, it might be a good time to do just that.

In the meantime, Purdue University’s Ag Economy Barometer reports that “insufficient supplies have impeded” producers’ overall operations. According to that barometer, farmers share another major concern with the outdoor industry: interest rate policies.

Despite farm income having rise over the past five years, farmers are still being hammered by high input (planting) costs and falling commodity prices. They’re accustomed to fluctuations in commodity prices, but the additional strain of acquisition of new gear or parts for existing gear, coupled with rising interest rates, has injected a lot more stress to an already tough profession.

“A year ago,” says Curt Blades of the AEM, “we thought the supply chain issues would have improved by now. That didn’t happen.”

There are similar stories throughout the outdoor industry as well. Last week, one manufacturer told me he was machining parts from aluminum bar stock because extrusion “isn’t an option right now.” As he explained it, “I was told that even if I had my order in right now, it would be a year before I could hope to get parts. So…I’m machining.”

The good news is that Americans are learning to adapt, innovate, and manufacture for themselves again.

Inflation is going to greatly improve your prepping. The days of throwing money at a problem by buying stuff of marginal quality and usefulness are over. The throwaway economy has made us all somewhat parasitic, and a dedicated effort is required to retrain the mind. Solid patient research is the way to go. Read reviews, ask around, pool your money for just one, and do a team evaluation of quality and usability for your purposes before buying more, perhaps. Remember, the library has free books to teach yourself new skills. Knowledge is lightweight, highly portable, flexible, adaptable, reusable, extendable, scalable, and above all, multiplies your side’s survivability and lethality.

Source:

Fiocchi, a global leader in defensive, target, and hunting ammunition, announced today the selection of a 281-acre site in the Port of Little Rock, Arkansas for a new ammunition primer manufacturing facility, expanding its operations presence in Little Rock. Representing a $41.5 million investment and a 120-person workforce expansion, the new production operation will pave the way for future growth in Arkansas and provide much-needed primer supply relief for the broader ammunition manufacturing segment.

The new facility will be one of only six primer manufacturing operations in the U.S. and the only dedicated lead-free primer plant in the world. Fiocchi evaluated five locations across three states for the expansion. Little Rock was selected as the preferred location after a thorough site selection search that evaluated real estate compatibility, logistical infrastructure, workforce capability, and support from state and local leadership.

[…]

“This groundbreaking represents another significant milestone in Fiocchi’s long-term plan to strengthen and expand our manufacturing capabilities,” said Maurizio Negro, Fiocchi Group CEO, “and to bolster primer supplies not only for Fiocchi products but also to increase supplies for the ammunition manufacturing industry at large. We sincerely appreciate the support of Governor Hutchinson, Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston, Jack Thomas of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Bryan Day of the Port of Little Rock, and all partners involved who helped make this possible.”

Part of Fiocchi’s ongoing vertical integration strategy, the new primer facility will allow the company to meet internal primer supply needs, focus on its low environmental impact initiatives, and present second-sourcing opportunities for industry contracts.

Source:

The idea that agencies are empowered to effectively create their own laws and go out and enforce them with armed federal agents should be alarming.

A report issued last year by the watchdog group Open The Books, “The Militarization of The U.S. Executive Agencies,” found that more than 200,000 federal bureaucrats now have been granted the authority to carry guns and make arrests — more than the 186,000 Americans serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. “One hundred three executive agencies outside of the Department of Defense spent $2.7 billion on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment between fiscal years 2006 and 2019 (inflation adjusted),” notes the report. “Nearly $1 billion ($944.9 million) was spent between fiscal years 2015 and 2019 alone.”

The watchdog reports that the Department of Health and Human Services has 1,300 guns including one shotgun, five submachine guns, and 189 automatic firearms. NASA has its own fully outfitted SWAT team, with all the attendant weaponry, including armored vehicles, submachine guns, and breeching shotguns. The Environmental Protection Agency has purchased drones, GPS trackers, radar equipment, and night vision goggles, and stockpiled firearms.

A 2018 Government Accountability Office report noted that the IRS had 4,487 guns and 5,062,006 rounds of ammunition in inventory at the end of 2017 — before the enforcement funding boost this year. The IRS did not respond to requests for information, though the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division does put out an annual report detailing basic information such as how many warrants the agency is executing in a given year.

Somebody should tell The Federalist that the anti-federalists were right.

Via WoG

The days of pansies, sissies, and mediocre men are upon us. God fights for us, and God fights with us, but what the New Religion has rejected is that God fights through us. This last requires our active participation in the battle.

“It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.” – Psalms 119:126

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

Refrain
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.

Refrain
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.

Refrain
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

What the saints established that I hold for true.
What the saints believed, that I believe too.
Long as earth endureth, men the faith will hold,
Kingdoms, nations, empires, in destruction rolled.

Refrain
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.

Refrain
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud and honor unto Christ the King,
This through countless ages men and angels sing.

Refrain
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before…

Our buddy Andy at Practical Accuracy has some real world data for you.  I think the case is closed, at least for me.

One corollary point is that the only real expert is you after shooting thousands of rounds down range.  Use your own gun, your own tuning, your ammunition, your eyesight, and your optics, and spend time at the range.  There are no two pieces of equipment exactly alike.

Shooting Illustrated.

50-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip
Nosler’s 50-grain Ballistic Tip is ideal for varmints and predators up to coyote size. Delivering around 10 inches of penetration, it’s even a good choice for tactical applications if intermediate barriers are not an issue. Federal loads the 55-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip in its Tactical Law Enforcement TRU line. This bullet creates massive, but moderately shallow, tissue destruction, ideal for vermin and self-defense applications. Hodgdon lists a maximum load of 28.5 grains of CFE 223 for a 50-grain bullet with a velocity of 3,500 fps. Nosler, however, lists a 29.0-grain maximum load at 3,379 fps. (This goes to show you that data from different sources do not always agree.) 

60-grain Nosler Partition
This is an excellent bullet for deer and feral hogs, and from a tactical standpoint it performs very well because of its ability to defeat intermediate barriers. In 10-percent ordnance gelatin or Clear Ballistics, you can expect 20 inches of penetration with the bullet’s deformed frontal diameter measuring almost .4 inch. Hodgdon’s maximum recommended charge of 26.7 grains of CFE 223 pushed this bullet to 3,100 fps out of my 22-inch barrel. Precision was not on par with the 50-grain Ballistic Tip, but a five-group average of 1.1 inches is totally sufficient for a load I intend to use inside 200 yards. This bullet does not have a reputation for delivering extreme precision.

70-grain Nosler AccuBond
I’ve killed more big-game animals with AccuBonds than any other bullet, mostly because they deliver an ideal balance of penetration and tissue damage. They also only need to impact at about 1,800 fps for measurable bullet upset. Nosler is the only company offering a factory 70-grain AccuBond load for the .223 Rem., but it can be hard to find. In its latest load manual, Nosler does not list CFE 223 for bullets between 70 and 85 grains, but Hodgdon lists a maximum load of 24.7 grains. With this bullet’s BC of .37, it’s still traveling 2,000 fps at 300 yards. This, combined with the precision it delivered, makes it an ideal multi-purpose load. In tactical applications, the bonding helps with intermediate barriers, and you can expect 17 inches of penetration.

Nosler 77-grain Custom Competition
Because of its light recoil, ringing steel and punching paper are joyous pursuits with the .223 Rem. For that you need a bullet that’s accurate and will fly reasonably flat. Nosler offers a factory load for the .223 Rem. that uses its 77-grain Custom Competition bullet, but it retails for more than $40 per box of 20. It’s advertised at 2,600 fps, and with Hodgdon’s maximum load of 24.3 grains I got 2,680 fps out of my rifle.

“America’s Rifle” isn’t just modular and easy to shoot and maintain.  It’s customizable with ammunition too.  I don’t hand load but I’ve found that just about any bullet type he discusses can be found either at your local store or over an Ammoseek search.  You can find what you want based on your perceived needs.

What I wish they would do now is work on varying the loads and bullet types for the 6mm ARC.  At the moment, Hornady seems to have a lock on that cartridge.  I’d like to see Federal and Nosler get into the game.

It’s a well-deserved and fitting end.  The board could never disconnect themselves from being Wayne LaPierre sycophants.

Moreover, the NRA always behaved as if its members should act like dogs eating crumbs that fall from the master’s table.  They supported the NFA, the GCA, the Hughes Amendment, the AWB, the bump stock ban, red flag laws, and just about everything that infringes on the rights of free men.

Prove me wrong.