The Cor Outfitters Intelligence Community: 2016-09-04

Saturday, September 10, 2016

How Many Days Before You Give up Hope When SHTF?

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

When you consider the events that preppers all over the world seem to prepare for, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, government collapse, economic collapse, rioting, hurricanes and on and on – if you are honest, you have to contemplate how you will act when faced with death. When whatever situations we are storing supplies for happen, inevitably in the worst disasters there will be death. There always is. In the most disastrous to us personally, it will be people we know and love.

I think all of us fear that possibility in the back of our minds and we deal with that in some ways by prepping. The more prepared we are, we figure, the less we have to worry about anyone we care for being adversely affected by disaster. That is the whole reason behind prepping, right? It is and while I can’t think of a better defense against bad things happening, still we all know they will. That is if we are being honest.

I say that again because I think some of us aren’t truly grasping the enormity of a situation that we would collectively call a SHTF. We have a pretty cavalier attitude about it sometimes and illustrate our plans to pick bad guys off at 300 yards before they can sneak through the woods to harm our women and children. We talk about repelling the worst of society and stocking away enough provisions to feed a platoon of highly skilled friends for years but are we just kidding ourselves and walling off discussion of something we all fear? Are we avoiding conversations that we may need to consider now that involve the very real prospect of death?

Giving up hope

I was prompted to write this article after listening to a podcast interview of the author Sheri Fink who has written a book entitled, Five Days at Memorial. In this book, she describes the events during hurricane Katrina that happened at Memorial Hospital. The podcast where she was interviewed and described in shocking detail the events that happened was incredible to me. You can listen below.

To cut to the most compelling story, one which you may already know, many patients were found dead in Memorial Hospital immediately following Katrina and there were charges that they had all died from lethal doses of drugs. Mortuary workers eventually carried 45 corpses from Memorial, more than from any comparable-size hospital in the drowned city. I won’t ruin the podcast or the story for you. It’s tragic on many levels, but the point that stuck out to me was that for all intents, these people in this story only lasted 5 days after a SHTF event before someone gave up.

I am not debating the various sides to the story, that is something you can do if you like. What is incontrovertible is that this one hospital lost power and utilities really on the day after the hurricane passed through. Only 4 days really after that, decisions or circumstances led to the death of 45 patients. In an ecosystem ostensibly set up and more than capable of preserving life in normal circumstances, death still happened in only 5 days after a loss of power.

Memorial Medical Center

How long will you last without power?

Some of you may be reading this and thinking that these patients were very sick and near death anyway. They couldn’t possibly survive without power running their various systems. The heat was intense (reports are over 100) and if a lethal combination of drugs was administered to them, that is merciful.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

OK, so if that is your argument, place yourself in that same situation. The power has gone out for 5 days in the summer due to some force outside your control. Now add to that, your toilets are filling up with sewage and your mother who is nearly bed-ridden is feeling the effects of age and her ailments more so in the heat. Are you going to put her out of her misery? Would you wait another 5 days? A month? How long would you last?

These questions I am posing, I honestly don’t have the answers for myself, but it did start my wheels turning. At its most basic, in this story, for the people in this hospital, this was a power outage. Yes, it was more chaotic than that, but the water didn’t push them from their location. They were dry, not counting the sweating they must have been doing and still with all their training, despite the Hippocratic oath… people were dying after only 5 days. This was in a hospital. What will happen everywhere else with people who aren’t trained to preserve life?

What could I do any differently?

The story of what happened in Memorial hospital reinforced for me just how quickly our society will unravel in a true crisis. After only four days’ critical patients in hospitals died. You have to expect similar things in nursing homes, assisted care facilities and regular homes or apartments of senior citizens everywhere if they are dependent on medicine or power to survive. Now add people who are on prescription medication (at least 60% of Americans) or who are bed-ridden, confined to an electric wheel chair type of device. Sure some of these people can survive without medication, but many will not be able to. What will be the scale of death with a larger event that takes power out for months or years? How many people will die when the power goes out and all of the ability to refrigerate food is gone? What will happen when there is no more air conditioning and temperatures raise higher and higher without any relief? When the bodies start to pile up, what will you do?

Will you be looking at ending the suffering of your family? The people you have been entrusted with caring for? How long will you be able to last before you give up and say to yourself, I am making them more comfortable?

Stories like this prompt me to action in a couple of ways.

Many dead were found in the chapel.

Refocus on prepping – Even if this is National Preparedness Month, hearing real life stories like this motivate me in a way that no stupid national declaration could ever do. These people were in a hospital so their lives to a great extent were in the hands of the medical practitioners, but you will likely not be in a hospital. Do you have supplies to last if the power goes out for 5 days? Do you have enough food and water for 30 days? Can you last longer than that? Have you ever experienced that much time without power?

Have redundant power sources – Additional backup power for me is a luxury, but for people who need this to survive, it’s a different story. I have several alternative sources of power from small solar panel systems to generators and power inverters. I have enough to get me by but not in sufficient amounts and not for long. Unless you have a significant source of solar power, in the worst disasters anything will eventually run out. Generators will run out of fuel no matter how much you store.

Consider medical issues – My family is all healthy but our extended family has a couple of people who require prescription medicine daily. Two are diabetic and I need to work with them on both acquiring more supplies just in case and to my previous point, making sure they have a way of keeping their insulin cool. Does your family have medical needs that you can handle if the power doesn’t come back on?

Remember what SHTF really means – SHTF isn’t really just some cool letters we strung together to sound hip. It is an idea that should conjure the worst scenarios in our mind. If we truly do live through a SHTF event, we can expect miserable conditions. This won’t be like the movies. People will die and tragedy will be in our faces, on our streets and impacting people we really know.

Plan to survive – Above all else, my motivation for prepping is that I plan to survive and I am taking as many people with me as I can. It is important to remember that well after I am forced out of the comfort of my office chair. When all hell breaks loose, that is when it matters and everything I have planned for up until this point will need to be put into action.

Don’t give up – I realize that at some point preserving life is no longer feasible or wise. I can’t say what I would have done in the case of the people in New Orleans for sure, but I do hope I would have been able to last longer than that. Suffering is never fun, but we were never promised a life without suffering. I will try to hold on as long as I can and do what is in my power to help others. That is all any of us can do.

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The post How Many Days Before You Give up Hope When SHTF? appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

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Prep Blog Review: We Start Our Autumn Prepping

Autumn Prepping

Autumn is here, we can feel it in the air. Just because it is getting cold outside does not mean that we have to stop prepping, on the contrary.

September is one of the best months to start preparing for the cold days and take your prepping skills to another level. You can start canning and preserving foods for winter and for long-term survival, you can start your own autumn garden or you can even learn new skills.

Here are a few ideas for your autumn prepping that we have found for you and are happy to share in this Saturday s Prep Blog Review.

How To Grow Potatoes In Buckets

growing-potatoes-in-buckets-logo

“One of the most important vegetable crop around the world is the potato. Despite the constant health reminder that potatoes can cause diabetes, weight gain and heart disease, most of us continue to love the processed version of potatoes. French fries, hash browns and mash potatoes equate to comfort food and snacks.”

What did you do to prep this week?

Well, folks here we are another week of prepping for the coming collapse – it’s been a long week for me because of an awful sinus infection that I just can’t seem to get rid of. Unfortunately, this happens every year at this same time and it’s miserable. But I’m a big boy and I’ll whine and complain like any man but I’ll keep going… right back to bed after I finish this post…

Okay, since I don’t feel good I’m going to keep this post short and to the point…

What did I do to prep this week…

I got about half of my...

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Get Home Bags (GHBs) Do You Have a Plan?

via YouTube Video Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies?
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Friday, September 9, 2016

Doomsday Preppers S03E02 The Gates of Hell HDTV 720p

Why Preppers Need To Make Rugged Individualism Popular Again

Written by Laura Johnson on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: This post contributed by Laura. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter the Prepper Writing Contest today.

When we think of rugged individualism, we might think of men like John Wayne in old-time Westerns or we might think of places like Fort Worth, Texas, where the idea of rugged individualism was a way of life for the cowboys who lived there. What has happened to the American psyche? Why has the idea of rugged individualism, a strong mind, and a noble character become unfashionable? Today our politicians whine about how bad things are because the very infrastructure of the country that built the first modern transcontinental railroads in the world is crumbling faster than we can raise the money to put it all together again.

Today, we seldom think of the fictional courage of John Wayne or the real life mental strength of the hardcore men who drove cattle in the state of Texas. John Wayne has faded into a parody of the cheesy plot lines of early Westerns and while Fort Worth is still called a cow-town by tourists and locals, it’s best known as a place where Hispanic and Latino youth habitually abuse illicit drugs. Here is how Greenhouse, an AAC facility, describes Fort Worth:

“The rate at which this demographic abuses illicit drugs is high, especially among youths — Fort Worth’s most at-risk demographic. Between 2008 and 2011, past-year rates of illicit drug use among Hispanic and Latino teens rose by 20 percent, with marijuana use alone rising by 25 percent and ecstasy use by 36 percent.”

What America needs to be great again is not more disingenuous promises of reform made from political platforms or more media spin about how certain nations, ethnic groups, or religious persuasions are out to get us. What it needs is mental strength, rugged individualism, backbone, and character.

The Importance of Mental Strength

How important is it to be mentally strong in the face of disaster? How should you as a prepper overcome the things that hold you back like addiction and mental illness? What does it take to build your character before you hit a crisis? These are questions we seldom ask ourselves. If there should be an economic meltdown tomorrow because the national debt is $19.3 trillion and European Banks are in deep trouble, it is a collective return to character building alone that will help us maintain morale in a crisis.

When you are courageous, you realize that waiting will only make the situation worse, that now is the best time to take action, and that you are the best person to resolve the pressing calamity.

The 3Cs of Mental Toughness

Mental toughness can’t simply be defined as machismo, which is more an act than an actuality. It’s much more complex, perhaps a combination of courage, confidence, and commitment.

Courage – No one is born courageous. It’s not a gene some of us inherit and that others miss out on. Instead, it’s a learned behavior. Courage is taking proactive action despite shaking in our boots. Courage is the assumption of inner strength from facing the reality of difficult circumstances before you. It’s about reaching within even when the situation seems hopeless.

A well-known image of courage comes from Shakespeare’s King Henry V. When the young English king was addressing his small army of knights and archers to stand up against the overwhelming number of heavily armored, battle-seasoned French knights at the battle of Agincourt, he advised them to “Imitate the tiger: Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.”

When you are courageous, you don’t run and you don’t hide. Instead, you face the situation without panic because you believe you can do what needs to be done as soon as possible. When you are courageous, you realize that waiting will only make the situation worse, that now is the best time to take action, and that you are the best person to resolve the pressing calamity. Although you still feel fear, you don’t let it stop you. Instead, you use it to strengthen your resolve. You don’t crumble in the face of obstacles, but feel resolute in the face of a challenge.

Building confidence doesn’t happen as a giant leap of faith in yourself, it happens in small steps.

Confidence – Confidence does not come naturally to us. Throughout our lives, we have been criticized far more often than encouraged. This is why confidence is more like a muscle than an innate tendency. We build confidence by taking small steps in the right direction. Small steps may seem trivial at the time you do them, but they will help you make incremental improvements. Small steps lead to small successes. These tiny victories build up, slowly creating a permanent change in your self-appraisal.

Building confidence doesn’t happen as a giant leap of faith in yourself, it happens in small steps. These small steps are tangible. These small steps are like each sure-footed ascent up a steep mountain. Each small step eradicates a chunk of self-doubt while each act of courage and commitment eradicates a piece of irrational trepidation. It’s wise to celebrate each step to lock it into your memory.

Commitment – Without commitment, nothing happens; with it, anything is possible. Enough said.

If America is to save itself from chaos, it has to stop listening to talking heads who merely express canned political agendas. Instead, it has to reach back into its deep past to a time when courage, confidence, and commitment were a way of life. You as leaders in your family and community will be forced to take action one day. To step out of your comfort zone and act. No one knows now the time, place or situation you will be faced with, but we are all pretty much assured that day is coming. Are you ready?

If you liked this article, please rate it.

The post Why Preppers Need To Make Rugged Individualism Popular Again appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Choose Your Weapons

by Lloyd P

This is a Glock 23 with three calibers and a Glock 20 with two

In much simpler times when gentleman wanted to settle a dispute of honor they called for a duel. “Choose your weapons” was the traditional start of the events once they had assembled. Dueling pistols, swords, even Bowie knives were sometimes used as tools to settle the disputes. Although it sometimes played out with each party firing into the air and then walking away with honor in tact or regained as the case may be – with no harm done.

It did not always end without loss and there are some very famous...

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CHEAP Dollar Tree Medical Supplies – Prepping Low on Cash

September 9, 2016 Miscellany News Brief

1.) Even Monetary Authorities Think We’re In a Depression: You probably aren’t aware because it isn’t a topic that gets discussed much if at all on the outside, but increasingly even monetary policymakers are coming around to the idea that we are in a depression. What choice do they have, really, since practically any chart of any economic account in any economy shows as much.

2.) Switzerland and Norway Begin to Massively Accumulate Precious Metals Mining Shares: Both banks are being reported to have printed close to $1 billion dollars of fiat money as of recently. This...

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What You Need To Know About Autumn Gardens

Autumn Garden

The weather is cooling down, at least in my neck of the woods, the pasture is drying up, and fall is in the air.

While autumn may not be associated with gardening as much as other seasons, there’s still plenty you can do.

Depending on the date of your first expected frost, you can still get seeds in the ground to harvest before winter. There are many plants that do better in cooler weather as opposed to the full-sun they’d get in the summer.

Now is also the time to plant crops that stay in the ground all winter to harvest in the spring. Your plants will establish a good root system this fall, which gives you a head start on next year’s garden plans.

10 Quick Growing Plants to Sow Now

These ten plants mature quickly. You can plant them now, and harvest them in mid to late October. Some will keep producing well into November to really extend your fall harvest.

When selecting seeds, be sure to check the package to see how many days until maturity are needed for that particular variety. You’ll want to go with the one that has the shortest length, to ensure your plants are ready to harvest before winter.

Radishes
Lettuce
Beets
Beans
Spinach
Broccoli
Turnips
Green onions
Kohlrabi
Peas

You’ll notice that greens and root crops make up the bulk of these recommendations. These types of plants typically do well in cooler weather.

Autumn Vegetables

Tips for Sowing Seeds in Autumn

The weather should be your biggest consideration before sowing seeds this time of year. You don’t want to lose your plants to a hard frost before you’re able to harvest anything.

If You Expect an Early Frost

Each area has a different growing season, which means you might not be able to grow as long as someone in a warmer climate. You have to know what the weather patterns are in your area.

If you aren’t sure what the autumn weather is like, it’s time to find out. Ask your local county extension agency. Talk to your neighbors who garden. See if your library has books specific to your region.

Once you know when to expect your first hard frost, you’ll be able to plan your autumn garden more efficiently. If your area freezes early, you’ll need to take extra precautions when planting. Otherwise, it’s likely that your plants will die when the cold weather strikes.

You can:

Plant indoors
Use a greenhouse
Create a cover for your plants with wire and plastic
Use garden fabric to cover plants
Create cold frames
Cover plants with blankets

These techniques will help prolong your growing season. You’ll be proactive in fighting the frost instead of just watching your plants freeze.

1. Keep Your Soil Warm

If you live in an area where it doesn’t normally freeze early, you may not need to take as many precautions. One thing you will want to do though, is ensure that your soil stays warm.

Your layers of mulch dutifully kept your soil cooler all summer long. To help keep your soil warm, consider removing this mulch before planting fall crops. That way the soil can suck in as much sunlight as possible.

You might also want to think about using a layer of plastic to trap the heat. You can cut an X in the plastic where each seedling will emerge.

2. Watch the Wind

Is it windy in the autumn where you live? Fighting the wind is hard on plants. Provide a windbreak by:

Building a fence
Utilizing existing trees and bushes
Set up garden fabric over your plants

Mild Winters?

Not every region experiences cold winters. If you live in a zone where temperatures stay above freezing year-round, your garden can thrive throughout the fall.

You won’t be limited to the plants listed above. You’ll be able to grow just about anything, including:

Okra
Eggplants
A variety of peppers
A variety of winter squash
Cucumbers
Potatoes
Brussels sprouts
Carrots
Cauliflower

If you’re area is prone to extremely hot summers, fall may turn out to be your most productive garden season. Your plants won’t be struggling with heat, and can actually spend energy on producing a harvest.

Crops to Start Now for Spring Harvest

In many zones, fall is also the perfect season for starting plants for spring. You’ll need to select hardy plants, that can withstand your area’s low temperatures. Otherwise your plants will die over the winter, instead of simply remaining dormant.

If you grow any perennials in your garden, such as asparagus and rhubarb, you’re already used to the concept of overwintering plants. They grow all year, and then rest over the winter. Then they shoot up in the spring, bursting with newfound energy from the warmth.

Plants that are short and low to the ground tend to do better with overwintering than taller ones. The snow layer that gathers will actually provide a layer of insulation, protecting the young plants.

Why Overwinter Annual Plants?

Planting in the fall allows your crops to get a solid root system developed before winter. Then when the snow melts in the spring and temperatures start to rise, these plants will lowly resume their growth. Fall planted crops will often lead to an earlier harvest in the garden.

The slow growth does have an effect on the plants. Many root crops that are allowed to overwinter are described as being much sweeter than their spring planted varieties.

Here are ten crops to consider adding to your garden this fall with the intention of harvesting in the spring:

Garlic
Onions
Carrots
Parsnips
Spinach
Arugula
Kale
Beets
Winter squash
Pumpkins

Planting these now will give your garden a great head start in the spring. Just be sure that they have ample time to establish a root base before the harshness of winter sets in. Four to six weeks before your first killing frost is a good reference point for getting seeds in the ground.

If your winters are severe, you may need to offer your young plants protection in the form of row covers. You can either buy ready-made ones, or make your own.

How to Plant Trees in the Fall

Nut and fruit trees are an excellent addition to the garden. Depending on your zone, fall could be the best time of year to add trees to your homestead.

If your area typically experiences mild or moderate winters, you should be alright to plant your trees in September or October. But, you’ll want to ensure they have protection around them.

A layer of mulch or straw will provide excellent insulation. You can use a wire cage to hold this material up to the trunk of your new tree. There are also tree guards you can purchase that’ll protect your tree’s trunk from pests and sun damage.

Fall planting allows your trees to get established before winter. They’ll continue to grow early in the spring, and you’ll be that much closer to having your own fruits and nuts.

However, the extreme cold of some areas of the world are not suitable for young trees. If your ground freezes by mid-October or November, you should wait until spring to plant trees.

How to Plant a Cover Crop

If your soil needs a little boost, you can consider planting a cover crop over all or part of your garden this autumn. Also known as green manure, this crop will return nutrients to your soil. By sowing in the fall, you’ll allow this plant to grow a bit before winter hits.

In the spring, you won’t harvest your crop. Instead, you’ll till the greens back into the soil. Just as plants you harvest nourish your body, cover crops nourish your soil. It’s a natural fertilizer.

Cover crops do more than just feed your soil. They also help keep weeds at bay, control pests, and keep your soil workable.

You’ll want to plant most cover crops at least four weeks before your first hard frost. This will give the roots time to get established before winter arrives.

In the spring, you’ll want to mow this crop before it comes to seed. Use a lawn mower or similar device to cut the cover crop short.

Once it’s short, you’ll be able to till the rest directly into the soil. Plan on doing the tilling a couple of weeks before you plant your garden in the spring. That way the green bits have some time to decompose.

Some cover plants will winterkill in cold climates. That means they won’t grow at all in the spring since the low temperatures at winter will kill them. Many gardeners prefer to grow winterkill cover crops because they are easier to deal with in the spring.

Rather than mowing and tilling live matter, the dead plants will form a thick mulch layer on top of your soil. In the spring, you can rake this away to get down to your refreshed soil.

What to Plant as a Cover Crop?

If you aren’t sure what cover crop to sow, here are some suggestions.

Rye (either annual or cereal)
Field peas
Oats
Buckwheat
Clover
Forage radishes

Your climate and the hardiness of the variety you plant will both play a role in which plants winterkill.

What’s Going in Your Autumn Garden?

I’d love for you to share what you’ll be planting this fall in the comments section below. Will you be planting for harvest in the fall or getting a start on your spring harvest? Are you growing a cover crop on any of your land?

If you share, be sure to let everyone know what zone you’re in so other readers can benefit from your knowledge. After all, there isn’t one right way to garden!

Sharing knowledge is a great way for us all to learn. This is how we’ve learned from our ancestors, and now we want you get this knowledge as well. Click on the image below for more about great survival tips from the old days.

This article has been written by Lisa Tanner for Survivopedia.

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Thursday, September 8, 2016

Defensive Shooting to Stay Alive!

Written by Orlando Wilson on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: This article was generously contributed by Orlando Wilson. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter the Prepper Writing Contest today!

Once you have selected and purchased a handgun you then need to learn how to shoot it accurately. If you have never used a handgun before, go and get some training in defensive shooting techniques. Some people, usually men, who have limited firearms experience but believe they, know everything about firearms will not undergo training. This is an ego problem and a sign of insecurity, which can end with innocent people getting hurt. Many people do not realize that the handgun techniques you see on the TV and at the movies do not work in the real world. You cannot learn how to use firearms by reading a manual or sitting down watching DVD’s or videos on YouTube, you have to go and practice. Many former and serving law enforcement and military personnel continuously seek and undergo further firearms training, because they are professional enough to know they can always learn something new and improve their skills. Firearms skills must be learned properly and then regularly practiced.

There are just as many people in the firearms training business that claim that their system is the best, just as there are self-proclaimed experts in the world of the martial arts or other fields. You can argue tactics all day and you will still get nowhere. You must find a system that works for you and learn it from an instructor who has both a good reputation and verifiable real world experience. The best systems are simple and not overly technical. If you are ever unfortunate enough to have to use your handgun in self-defense you want to be concerned about getting rounds into the bad guy, not having to thinking if you grip is correct and if your feet are in the right place.

There are many people confusing competition shooting techniques that are developed for sports and hobbies as realistic tactical training. Big difference number one, on the streets the bad guys don’t care about the rules and will be shooting back. I have had students come through my courses that have been taught and trust techniques that look cool and work in an air-conditioned shooting range with no stress but have completely no relevance in the real world. On the street, fancy techniques that overly stress safety will get you killed and hopefully only you and not those you’re possibly protecting.

You need to realistically think about how you would handle being in a hostile situation, not on a comfortable shooting range, but being attacked by criminals in some dark parking lot or your home in the early hours of the morning when there will be no one to help you. The police, if you’re lucky, maybe, there in 15 minutes if you are able to contact them; think about what the criminals can do to you and your family in those 15 minutes. Visualize this situation and determine how you would genuinely feel and determine how you would react in the seconds you may be lucky to have to reverse the situation on the criminals. There was a saying I picked up in South Africa in 94 and agree with to this day “The police are just there to pick up the bodies”. Most police like to tell you they are your protectors but the reality is, if you’re involved in a hostile situation they will not be rushing into save you, they will be thinking about their own skin. They are happy to do the after incident paperwork and to arrest you, if you live, if it means brownie points for them or, in a lot of places, an opportunity to extort money from you.

Firearms skills must be learned properly and then regularly practiced.

The Fundamentals of Defensive Shooting

The subjects that should be included in your tactical training are defensive shooting both left and right-handed, drawing from concealed carry, using different fire positions and use of cover. If you are going to work with or carry a firearm, you should undertake stress scenario training. This should include dry and live fire contact drills, in different environments, i.e. in a vehicle, in a street, in a restaurant and so forth. Proper training, handgun maintenance, carry technique/firearm access, aiming, grip/trigger pull and shot placement are the basic factors in defensive shooting.

Training/firearms competence: You must be able to use your weapons safely and competently before you consider using it for defensive purposes. If you do not know how to use your weapon properly you are more of a danger to yourself and your love ones than the bad guys. Take the time to learn your weapon and how to use it!
Handgun maintenance: Your handgun needs to be functional and in a good clean condition. You should have good ammunition that is in a good condition. Modern ammunition can function reliably for several years being regularly carried as long as it does not get excessively damp. But I tell my students to change their carry ammo for new rounds every six months or so, just to minimize the risks of a misfire. You need to keep your handgun clean, oiled and check it regularly. If your handgun or ammunition does not work, then everything else is a waste of time.
Carry technique/firearm access: You need to be able to get to your handgun when you need it. You may have the cleanest $1500.00 .45 caliber handgun and be an excellent shot but this is no good if you cannot get to your handgun when you need it. I have dealt with several clients who have had handguns close to them during incidents but were unable to get to them. You must be able to get to and deploy your weapons weak and strong handed, if you can’t, again everything else is a waste of time!
Grip: You must have a good grip on the weapon, as I have said before, having a good grip is one of the fundamentals of pistol shooting. This is where you must practice drawing your weapon and instinctively getting the right grip, the only way to you can achieve this is by repeatedly drawing and holstering your weapon; dry training. Please ensure your weapon is unloaded before you practice any dry drills.
Aim: Once the weapon is deployed you need to stabilize and get it on target as quickly as possible. The chances are in a hostile situation you won’t be able to get into a formal shooting stance but you still need to deliver accurate fire on your target whatever position you are in. These three aiming techniques all have a place in tactical shooting.
Slow, aimed fire. This is the most accurate and is where you apply the marksmanship principles. It involves getting a steady, properly aligned sight picture and slowly squeezing accurate shots. It is normally used for shots over 20 yards/meter or when you need precise accuracy. In tactical situations you should be behind cover or in a prone position when taking slow aimed shots, support the handgun where possible. With this technique you should be able to deliver accurate shots out to 100 + yards/meters with practice.

If you do not know how to use your weapon properly you are more of a danger to yourself and your love ones than the bad guys.

Rapid aimed fire. For this technique you look down the top of the handgun and get a quick sight picture and shoot. This can be used against targets out to 20 yards/meters or further with practice, it’s accurate and fast. As I have previously stated whenever I use the sights I close the opposite eye to the hand the pistol is in, the same applies with this technique. Again in a tactical situation it would be best to use this technique from behind cover.
Instinctive fire. This technique is can be used out to 10 yards/meter or more where there is no time to use the weapons sights. Forget about the sights, focuses on the target and point the handgun directly where you want the bullets to go and squeeze the trigger. This technique is simple and fast but needs practice, will talk about it more in the next chapter. At distances up to 10 yards/meters you want to be able to fire five quick shots accurately into a person, forget double tapping. At distances up to 5 yards/meters with say a 9mm handgun, most people should be able to rapid fire multiple rounds accurately into a target with a little practice using proper techniques. It all depends on them having a good grip on the weapon and a good trigger pull.
Trigger Pull: You should practice pulling the trigger on your handgun until you can do so smoothly. One trick (make sure your handgun is unloaded) is to balance an empty bullet case on the top of your handgun, near the front sight and practice dry firing, the aim is you to keep the case there for as many trigger pulls as possible. If that is too easy try a coin balanced on your front sight. You want to fire a minimum of five quick shots into a person when in hostile situations at close quarters. You should keep putting rounds into the criminal or terrorist until they no longer pose a threat.
Shot Placement: In a hostile shooting incident, the criminal or terrorist must be incapacitated immediately, a wounded the criminal or terrorist can still be very dangerous. Shot placement is everything and takes priority over caliber. A shot to the brain with a .22 will drop someone where as a .45 hollow point to the stomach may kill someone in the long run but short-term the bad guy you just shot can still fight and shoot you. You need to train as you intend to fight, that’s old knowledge but it makes me laugh on most gun ranges to see people, civilians and law enforcement shooting center of mass on silhouette targets. What vital organs or bones are at your center of mass? None! The only reason I see for people being told to shoot center of mass is so they can pass qualifications with minimum effort and training. You need to be training to hit vital organs or bones, if not then you are going to be surprised when the bad guy you have just shot keeps shooting back at you.

You need to be training to hit vital organs or bones, if not then you are going to be surprised when the bad guy you have just shot keeps shooting back at you.

The best shot placement that guarantees nearly 100% immediate incapacitation of the target is to the brain. Shots should be below the middle of the forehead, and above the upper lip or to the side of the head above the center of ear from the cheekbones back. I have heard many people say the head is too small of a target area; well it is if you’re trying to get poorly trained personnel to pass security or law enforcement shooting qualifications. But for people who want to take the time and train properly head shots can be achieved instinctively at close quarters in a short period of time. One thing that annoys me with society in general is that these days all standards are being set to the lowest level, just because one person is incompetent it does not mean everyone is, but we can’t hurt the feelings of the incompetent ones can we… I live in a different world and understand that as far as violent situations are concerned you need to be at the highest standard and end the situation as quickly as possible. Five rapid rounds from a trained shooter towards the head of a bad guy at conversational range will end the conversation very quickly. Also, these days with body armor being freely available and the fact the criminals or terrorists may be on narcotics head-shots should be your first target area of choice.
The center of the upper chest, just below the neck is also a good target area. Shots that hit the lungs can be fatal but may take time to drop a target, shots the heart will kill a target instantly. I tell my students that aiming just below the neck ensures that if their shots are low or high they are still hitting vital areas on the target. Another reason for mixing my ammunition between HP’s and FMJ rounds is because I want penetration; if a bullet hits a target’s spine they are instantly paralyzed. As I’ve said shots to the lungs can be fatal but can take time to drop a target. During this time, the criminal or terrorist can still return effective fire, this is again why I tell people fire a minimum of five rounds and you need to be aggressive. If a criminal is returning fire the chances are their arms and weapon will be in front of their chest, so we need the multiple shots and ammunition that will penetrate to ensure hits on the vital areas. This area of the body may also be covered by heavy clothing, objects such as cell phones that may deflect or prevent a bullets penetration. Also, if the criminal is wearing a bullet-proof vest this can prevent rounds hitting the vital areas, be aggressive and keep shooting until the target is down. If shooting at moving targets or targets at distances over 10 yards/meters or if you know you cannot get the head shot, you should shoot for upper chest.
Shots to the stomach or lower can kill someone but are rarely effective in dropping a target immediately, this is again where I would say FMJ ammo could be effective for penetrating to the spine or breaking the pelvis.

Remember!

Speed and accuracy are your main concern. Get your weapon out and get multiple and accurate rounds into the target as quickly as possible
Always fully load your weapon; magazine to be fully loaded and put a round in the chamber where legal to do so. I am currently writing this in Nigeria and in one incident here recently, three police officers were killed in what we believe to be an attempted hit on someone they were escorting. They approached a car that was blocking the road and their client’s vehicle, as they got close a criminal opened up on them with an AK-47, all 3 died at the scene. They were carrying AK’s also but with the safety catches on and no rounds in the chambers, they did not stand a chance.
Always know what is beyond your target. A dead bystander means manslaughter if not murder charge. Go for headshots at close quarters; otherwise go for the upper chest area/base of the neck.
In the US, the majority of police officers killed in shooting incidents are shot at conversational range, at distances of up to 10 feet. Over 50% are shot at distances under 5 feet. At these distances there is no need to use the weapons sights, be aggressive point and shoot!
Two out of every three police officers killed in the US are shot at night or in low-light areas. If you can point shoot these is no need to worry about night sights and lasers etc. as you are not using the sights anyway. We will talk later about the use of flashlights/torches.
The most common handgun calibers used against American police officers are 9-millimeter and .38. These two calibers accounted for 50 percent of the handgun deaths. In most places in the world you will find 9mm and .38 caliber weapons, they have been around for nearly 100 years and I expect will be around for a long time to come.
Shooting incidents are over in seconds, you will not have time to chamber a round, get into a range stance, check breathing and use the sights on your weapon. You should keep a round in the chamber, have access to the handgun, be aggressive and get rounds into the targets vital areas of the target as quickly as possible.
Criminals or terrorists usually operate in gangs so, in time train for engaging multiple targets.
Terrorists and criminals like guns, they train in police and military techniques using manuals and videos that are freely available on the commercial market. It’s up to you to train harder and be at a more professional level than they are.
Always be aware of your environment, you want spot any potential problems and avoid them or at least be ready. If it gets to the point where the criminal has set you up and has a weapon on you, you’re going to have problems. Best to always try to avoid the problems and confrontations!

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4 Ways To Preserve Vegetables For Long-Term Survival

Preserve Vegetables For Long Term Survival

You’ve worked hard in your garden and now you have a ton of beautiful vegetables ripe and ready to eat. What should you do with them, though? Preserve them, of course! There are many ways to prepare your produce so that you can store your vegetables long-term and enjoy them for months, and even years, to come!

Can Vegetables

This is probably the most common way to preserve your vegetables for long-term storage because canned veggies can be eaten up to a decade (or longer) after they’re preserved. There are a few methods that you may choose depending upon the type of vegetable that you are canning. For some vegetables, you may choose the water bath method, and for others, you’ll need to pressure can them.

The reason that canning preserves your food is because, during the process, bacteria are killed and most of the air is released out of the jar. The jar seals because air shrinks as it cools, causing the rubber around the seal to create a vacuum in the jar. Thus, air and bacteria can’t get into the jars and spoil the food.

How long you have to boil the jars in order to kill the bacteria depends upon the type of vegetable that you’re canning.

Water Bath Canning

Water bath canning is great for canning fruits, high-acid vegetables such as tomatoes, or for vegetables that are canned in a high-acid juice or sauce. We’ll get into the reason behind this when we talk about pressure canning in a minute. This manner of canning is relatively easy to do and only requires a few pieces of equipment that you likely have on hand including:

A pot large enough to hold your jars and tall enough that you can fill it with enough water to cover your jars to the neck.
A rack that sits on the inside bottom of the pot to keep your jars from coming into direct contact with the bottom of the pot.
Canning jars
Canning rings
Canning lids with seals
Tongs (preferably canning tongs) to remove the jars from the pot
A spatula small enough to slide down the inside of the jar to release air pockets

You can buy a pot specifically designed for water bath canning. It comes with the rack for the bottom and the size is already adapted to hold a certain amount of jars. If you don’t have one, though, you can use a stock pot or pressure cooker pot.

Pressure Canning

This procedure requires a pressure cooker and is required for canning low-acid vegetables and meats. Since most veggies are low-acid, this is the method that you should use in order to avoid botulism. The botulinum toxin that causes botulism thrives in low-acid, low-air environments such as in canned, low-acid veggies.

Botulism affects your central nervous system and can easily kill you, especially if you’re young, old, or have a weak immune system. Even if you’re healthy as a horse, botulism will still make you extremely sick and the damage to your central nervous system can be permanent.

Some signs that your canned food contains botulinum toxin are bubbles in the jar, food or juice oozing out of the jar, a big release of air and possible spewing of juice or veggies when you open the jar, or a slimy white or cloudy discoloration in the jar. If your canned goods show any of these signs, throw them away. It’s not worth the risk.

The only equipment that you’ll need to pressure can that’s different from water bath canning is a pressure cooker. You don’t have to can vegetables separately, so get creative. You can actually can entire meals, such as vegetable or beef stew. I’ve created some pressure canning recipes in this article to get you started.

Dry Canning

This method is often used for vegetables that you’ve dehydrated in order to significantly extend shelf life. There are a couple of different methods of dry canning, but the most reliable is probably to use oxygen absorbers. Dry canning only works for dried foods, including vegetables, flour, sugar, and dried meats, pastas, and dry mixes such as cake mixes.

Dehydrating

Dehydrating your vegetables is another great way to preserve them, especially if you dry-can them after you dehydrate them. You can use a food dehydrator or oven, hang them in a cool dry place, or dry them in the sun. Which way you choose depends upon the type of vegetable and your personal preference. You can even make your own food dehydrator!

To use dehydrated food, you can either eat it as-is or rehydrate it and use it in its (almost) natural form. Dehydrating preserves most of the food’s nutrients, so it’s a good way to go and provides a delicious, nutritious food that’s lightweight and space-efficient.

Pickling

Pickling food is another way that you can preserve vegetables for long-term storage. Many people confuse pickling and fermenting but there’s definitely a difference that we’ll discuss in the next section. Pickling your vegetables simply consists of soaking them in brine, typically made of vinegar, until they’re preserved.

You’ve probably eaten pickled cucumbers, cauliflower, banana peppers, jalapenos, beets, beans, or even carrots. Just about any vegetable can be pickled, though not all taste so great when preserved this way.

There are old styles of pickling that don’t call for canning, but to ensure that all bacteria are killed, modern pickling involves cooking the pickled vegetables, usually using water bath canning in order to make them practically non-perishable as long as they’re pickled and canned properly.

Here is a nice infographic from fix.com about how to pickle anything like a pro.

How To preserve Vegetables

Fermenting

Do you love sauerkraut and yogurt? How about vinegar (which, by the way you can make at home)? They’re all made by a process called fermentation. Fermentation is a chemical process that occurs naturally. Since we’re talking about veggies, it occurs when salt is added to a vegetable. It’s a simple process that we cover in this article.

Many people add water and a starter to hasten the process, but most vegetables will ferment on their own with just salt. This is because the bacteria needed to start the fermentation process are on the skin of all organic vegetables.

Note that I said “organic”. It’s important that you use organic vegetables when fermenting because they don’t have chemicals such as pesticides on them, and the natural bacteria haven’t been washed away.

Fermented foods are packed with enzymes, probiotics, and lactic acid. They don’t lose vital nutrients such as vitamin C during the process; in fact, some nutrients are actually enhanced by the fermentation process. The nutrients in fermented food are also more bioavailable than in the raw product. Though canned foods retain many of their nutrients, the heat kills the enzymes and probiotics that are so good for you.

In order to preserve your vegetables long-term for survival, it’s always best to use fresh, ripe produce that has no bad spots. You don’t want it to be overripe, but you don’t want it to be green either; not in most cases anyway.

How you choose to preserve your food depends on the type of food, how long you want to preserve it for, how you plan to use it, and how much space you have. Sometimes it comes down to personal preference! Remember that all of these methods can be performed without electricity should you need to do it.

We have the sun for drying, fermenting only requires salt and a cool place, and pickling and canning only require a fire. If you’ve preserved food in any of these manners and have something to add, or if you’d just like to talk about food preservation a bit more, please do so in the comments section below.

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

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Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Making a Living Post TEOTWAWKI

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

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Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from Bobcat-Prepper. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

I recently completed reading “World Made By Hand”, and its sequels “The Witch of Hebron”, “A History of the Future”, and “The Harrows of Spring” by James Howard Kunstler. In each book, he covers one season in the life of carpenter Robert Earle and his neighbors of Union Grove, New York after waves of epidemics have caused the collapse of modern society. The survivors live (and die) in a world similar to the early nineteenth century in daily life and technology. They have almost given up on progress, until Brother Jobe and his New Faith followers arrive in town, buy the old high school, and restart the local economy with their beehive of activity. I learned that some folks have a resiliency to overcome awful circumstances, and will strive to rebuild a society that works on some level. Also, food will taste much better when it is made by hand!

The reason the America of “World Made By Hand” (WMBH) is stuck in the 1800s and cannot be as productive as today’s society, is the lack of cheap energy. America’s bounty was built on cheap energy, pulling ever-greater amounts of coal, oil and natural gas out of the ground for very little cost. Oil deposits that were close to the surface were used up first, and then as our technology developed throughout the twentieth century, we consumed deposits that were deeper and provided less return on investment. Likewise, the easy-to-access coal deposits have been used up, while plenty is still available with heavy excavation machinery and electrical power for lights, elevators, and ventilation. These fuel sources have allowed us to achieve a technology and productivity unthinkable two hundred years ago.

Here are a few ways that our world today could quickly end up “made by hand”:

1) An EMP weapon detonated over America’s heartland fries the electrical grid and most electrical devices. The 2004 congressional EMP report estimated that 90% of Americans would die within a year from starvation, violence and disease. Without electricity, we cannot pump the oil, refine it, or transport it to consumers.

2) A fast-moving epidemic that kills or incapacitates as few as 10-20% of Americans could easily set our society on a downward path, as employees critical to our power/transportation/food distribution systems die or, out of fear of contagion, refuse to show up to work.

3) A cyber-attack shuts down our power grid for a couple of weeks, American cities are torn apart by riots, looting, and chaos, and the American economy goes up in flames.

Most American workers today have jobs that would vanish in an instant once the power goes off, and the oil stops flowing. Stock trading? Gone. Marketing? Gone. Car sales jobs? Useless. If the worst happens, have you given any thought to how you would be making a living post TEOTWAWKI?

How could you thrive in a “World Made By Hand”? By getting a job from the 1820s.

Let’s look at how people made their living 200 years ago, at the end of the Industrial Revolution but before the discovery of oil near Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. Which skills were in demand in a country of 9.6 million citizens? According to this National Bureau of Economic Research report from 1966, the top areas of employment in 1820 were:

World Made by Hand: A Novel

Agriculture – 2.47 million workers (78.8%). After any world-altering disaster, everyone would put growing food first, and it is a good idea to become a master gardener now. Jobs associated with the farm could include field laborer, livestock care, animal husbandry, butcher, food preservation, beekeeping, and many more. “Squire” Bullock has a good feudal system going outside Union Grove, with all of his workers living on his estate and taking most of their pay in food.

As food-raising efficiency and preservation get better and business efforts organize, there would be opportunities for the WMBH economy to emerge, for a few workers to specialize in other areas like:

Trade – Estimated employment of 150,000 (~5%). Jobs associated with trade could include traders (deal makers), warehouse ownership/management, warehouse workers, retail shop ownership, and retail shop workers.

Construction – Estimated employment 150,000 (~5%). Much of building construction was done by farmers and their slaves in the 1820s, so the actual number of dedicated construction workers during that time period seems lower than actual level of work done. I can foresee survivors building outhouses and smokehouses for themselves, but very little construction done otherwise. Investing money and labor into new construction requires construction supplies, hope and economic growth, and there would be very little of that after SHTF. The residents of Union Grove did not build a thing until Brother Jobe’s congregation arrived, and gave the town the economic jolt they needed.

Construction on the Great Northern Railway’s transcontinental railroad.

Domestic Service – 110,000 workers (3.5%). Servants did the housework for the folks better off, but there were very few mentioned in WMBH, and rightly so – a poor economy would allow few to afford such a luxury.

Transport (Ocean & Rail) – 50,000 workers (1.6%). These two modes of transport would be much reduced after oil is unavailable. The heroes of WMBH travel primarily by walking and horseback, but they also use horse-drawn wagons, mule-pulled flatboats traveling through canals, and small sail-powered cargo ships on the Hudson River and Great Lakes. These are great ways to move food and supplies, but they require a long lead time to learn to build/retrofit boats, breed more horses or other beasts of burden, and develop productive and safe trade routes. If Kunstler ever writes a fifth WMBH book, I hope he will have a wood- or coal-powered steam engine come through Union Grove – that is when you would know America is coming back.

Teachers – 20,000 workers (0.6%). Sorry, teachers – after SHTF, there will be no school board to hire you back, no property taxes to fund your paycheck, and most of the curriculum you teach now will be irrelevant anyway. What purpose will be served by kids learning the themes of Shakespeare’s plays and writing a 1000 word compare-and-contrast essay? Children will be needed to shoo the crows from the corn, pull weeds, and do all the chores the adults are too tired or big to do. When they are older, the children can work in the family business, apprentice with a craftsman, or work for wages (in some form) as a day laborer.

Fishing – 14,000 workers (0.5%). Without refrigeration, the jobs in this area will be scarce, but with the right fishing expertise, worm farming equipment, poles, nets and salt, a fisherman could do quite a business providing much-needed protein to the surviving community.

Farming in the 1800s was done by every member of the family by ox drawn plows. Do you have any oxen? What about horses?

Mining – 13,000 workers (0.4%). Coal would be a much-needed commodity in a WMBH to get machines running again. Coal is valuable because it is eleven times as energy-dense as wood, but the business is problematic. Coal mining by hand is hazardous, back-breaking work. It was often performed by children in the old days because of the nasty work environment and low ceilings, or by slaves in some countries and times. To get coal out of the ground without petroleum-powered equipment would require a conveyance system of cars and tracks, or baskets and strong backs. Picks, shovels and lanterns would be needed, and a few canaries to warn of methane pockets, too.

I live in coal country, but the mines have been closed so long that few folks remember where the mine entrances are; an old coal mine map could be the start of a prosperous business in a long-term collapse.

Cotton Textile – 12,000 workers (0.4%). In an SHTF scenario, people worry about food, not new clothes, right? It is only as the societal collapse of WMBH unfolds over ten years or so, that poor quality clothes like t-shirts and cheap jeans fall apart under harsh conditions, and Union Grove folks look for new clothes made by hand from the tailors of Brother Jobe and his New Faith Church community.

Raising cotton (or flax or hemp) is beyond most gardeners’ ability or interest, but to have the supplies, equipment and ability to grow, card, spin and weave fiber into cloth would be a great asset in any long-term scenario.

Sewing clothes from store-bought cloth, on the other hand, is a lot more appealing and achievable today. A seamstress could also alter clothes for survivors losing weight, children growing up, or adjust clothes “inherited” from those who didn’t make it.

Iron/Steelworkers – 5,000 workers (0.2%). Due to the high fuel requirements, large equipment, and high skill required to smelt iron and forge steel, I didn’t even mention mining iron ore earlier. I don’t think our society could do it for a long time once the mills shut down. There would be plenty of steel left in our buildings and cars for recycling into hand tools, if life turned south.

No matter the time, resources or situation, healthcare workers will never be unnecessary.

To these categories of 1820 employment, I would add for your consideration:

Security – Federal or state soldiers, local police, and private security for businesses and wealthier families may all be needed. One would need to be proficient in firearms, sword and knife fighting, and hand-to-hand combat, depending on the situation and weapons available.

Craftsmen – Blacksmith, tanning/leather-working, carpenter, brewer, gunsmith, cheese maker, and baker. All typical jobs you might find in any European town for hundreds of years.

Doctors and Health Care Workers – The medical profession is especially important to preserving life after SHTF, and yet its effectiveness will be severely hampered by the loss of power, equipment and supplies.

Medical doctors will have only their senses and brains to figure out what is wrong with a patient internally, as X-rays, MRIs and lab tests will be a thing of the past. Their stamina will be tested by the flood of new patients arriving at their doorstep with work-related injuries and third-world diseases like cholera, dysentery, and typhus. Nurses, lab technicians and even veterinarians may be recruited and trained to help treat the crowds. Specialists will be needed to modify some equipment for non-powered use, herbalists to provide medicinal herbs in the wild for treatment, and scavengers may be helpful to find medications in abandoned pharmacies or homes.

Lumber and Firewood – Woodsmen would be vital to providing the main power source for the community, young men with axes and saws to turn the remaining forests into fuel for warmth, cooking and for many of the jobs above.

Very few people today can do the WMBH jobs listed above. We are used to power tools, internet access, and an accessible supply chain to help us get our jobs done. Think hard about your unique skills, and determine if they would be useful after SHTF. If not, acquire and hone new skills to complement your own, buy or build new manual equipment, and figure out new supply and demand chains to allow you to make a living in a “World Made By Hand”.

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