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We like to think we are prepared but are we?
Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power
Posted in: Featured, My Story
Guest post by Dennis A.
It was mid-July a few years ago and very hot. At about 4:30 P.M. and shortly after I returned home from work, the weather radio goes off and announces a huge line of super cell thunderstorms producing tornados, softball size hail, heavy rain and straight-line winds in excess of 70 M.P.H.
monster storm Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power
image by Fellowship of the Rich
Less than an hour later, the monster hit. I yelled to my wife and daughter to get into the basement, NOW! Fortunately they listened to me and went downstairs. I thought, “I’m not going to miss this one,” and stood at the glass window. While I was standing there enjoying the trees bend 90 degrees and listening to things hitting the side of the house, all of a sudden our heavy, full size trampoline started to levitate upwards. It lifted 5 feet, 10 feet, and then 30 feet straight up and then took off like a Harrier jet toward me. I went scrambling down to the basement with my family. I did not see any funnel cloud, and to this day I can’t see how a straight-line wind could do something like that.
The storm lasted maybe 30-45 minutes and during the course of the storm we lost electrical power. No problem, I’m a “prepper”; I’m very well prepared! I made my way to the next room in the basement where I have my flashlights, candles and battery lamps perfectly stored in nice boxes. It was pitch dark. Based on the severity of the storm I figured the power would be out at least until sometime the next day.
Now, it was time to put my action plan to the test. I got out all my heavy duty 12 gauge extension cords, electrical strips, Coleman battery lanterns, etc. I fired up the Coleman 5,000 watt generator on the first pull and plugged everything in: the refrigerator, the chest freezer, the TV and satellite box.
The next morning, walking outside through the front door I sure could tell a severe storm came through. Debris, shingles, branches, lawn furniture, and more was everywhere. I wondered where the trampoline had landed. We lived in a subdivision and we eventually found that thing 75 yards away where it had struck the side of a house and caved the wall in pretty good.
power outage Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power
image by dave hale
Nine days without power
Day One: I had a long list of thing to do. I needed to call in to work and take a couple of days off, call the insurance company, clean up all the mess, cover the holes on the roof until I could get a roofer out, etc. It was awfully hot outside for 7:00 a.m. and the highs for the day were forecasted to be in the high 90s and lower 100’s.
My wife called me into the house to show me the news on TV. It turned out that we had experienced a very widespread tornado and storm damage covering three states. Our entire regional area including St. Louis was 80% out of power. My gut feeling told me what we were going to be without power for a number of days. I thought, “Oh well. I’m a prepper. I’m ready!” A quick check told me that I had about a weeks worth of gasoline for the generator.
Later on that morning we took a little drive around our village to see what was up. Nothing was open, and I mean nothing. No Wal-Mart, no Kroger, no McDonalds and no gas stations. There was very little traffic and all the stop lights were out. Returning home around noon we walked into a very hot house. Should I open the windows or keep the house closed up?
It wasn’t long before I had to make a decision. It was 98 degrees outside and 82 degrees inside and climbing. To make a long and miserable story short, I decided to keep the house closed up. At its peak the house would only get to 89 degrees inside max, and a couple of degrees cooler in the basement. The heat generated from the refrigerator, freezer, coffee pot, and TV, I’m sure contributed to a lot of the heat. Even with a couple of fans blasting away directly at us, it was miserable trying to get any sleep until it was just about time to get up and the temperature in the house hit its low.
Day Two: One long continuation of day one: hot! At least I had all the conveniences of home: satellite TV, refrigerator, freezer, lights, coffee pot, etc. No one else in the subdivision seemed to be as well off. That night around 9 p.m. my wife and I went for a drive to see if anything was open yet. Everything was still closed. Driving back into the subdivision I got an eerie gut wrenching knot in my stomach as I was approached my house. The entire subdivision was totally black, except for my house. It looked like Christmas from the outside. The entire subdivision was totally silent, except for my house, where the blaring sound of a generator permeated the silence. I realized that I had a big red and white circle on my back! We got inside, closed the curtains, and repositioned the lights. There wasn’t much we could do about the generator noise.
storm damage Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power
image by alycefeliz
Day Three: The days are getting hotter along with the inside of the house. I had to report to work, and the roofer was expected to drop by later. The roof was repaired by the time I got home, the wind turbine replaced, and the vent pipe repaired, all for a very reasonable price. I was surprised that I didn’t get gouged!
I was getting 24-hours run time out of the generator at 50-75% capacity and the oil needed to be changed. Remember those big red and white circles on my back? The neighbors on both sides of me came over shortly after I returned home from work and asked if I had any ice and/or bottled water to spare. Along with everything else going on, we had a water boil order and we had been advised not to directly drink the water.
I was willing to help but I didn’t let it be known that I had 10 cases of bottled water and two 55-gallon plastic food grade barrels full for emergency use. I only had a small amount of ice in a few ice trays but I gave them what I had and refilled the trays. I also gave them plenty of ice cold bottled water from the fridge. I’m learning many of the people in the subdivision are driving 50-100 miles to get air conditioned motel rooms to escape the heat and sleep. Some are asking us to please try and keep an eye on their property.
That evening we had some good news. The local Quick Trip gas station got an emergency generator and was open for business. The bad news was that we couldn’t get anywhere near it! Traffic was backed up two blocks to get gas and it was a mad house! They were out of ice, milk, bread, bottled water and other commodities. I parked a couple of blocks away and found that they had plenty of cold beer. Just what the doctor ordered! I grabbed a case of my favorite beverage with a smile ear to ear and headed home.
It was so hot and miserable that we had been eating very light but that night I broke out some pork steaks and brats and barbequed them while my wife boiled potatoes for potato salad on my propane Coleman gas stove outside.
We invited a few of our neighbors over to share. I shut down the noisy generator for a while to have a moment of some normalcy. It was 101 degrees Fahrenheit at the moment and the case of ice-cold beverages didn’t last long. One of the neighbors hopped into her car to get more. Everything is cash only at the QT.
stores closed power outage Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power
image by heather
Day Four: I couldn’t believe it but another line of severe thunder storms, tornados, high winds and hail was headed our way again. This time my location didn’t get hit as badly as the first round but we still got a substantial amount of hail damage to my roof and vehicles; much of it was golf ball size. It looked like we had two inches of snow when it finished.
Day Five: I learned at work about more power outages caused by the latest round of severe weather, and hundreds of thousands of homes are out of power again. The electric companies are asking out-of-state workers for assistance. There is still no definite time table to restore our electric service.
More and more of the hardcore subdivision neighbors are stopping by and asking for bottled water and ice. My six plastic ice cube trays are getting a work-out round the clock. I can’t make it fast enough and we’re down to four cases of bottled water.
Then something totally unexpected happened. In addition to still being under a water boil alert, the fire department is going door to door and handing out fliers. I thought it must be some sort of no-burn notice or something, but when I read it, I found out that the village sewer system and pump stations do not have emergency back-up power. Long story short, sewage is backed up and can’t be pumped. This can cause a back up in your drains / toilet and possible sewage explosion. Have you ever seen the aftermath of a toilet / drain sewage explosion? They requested minimal use of our bathroom facilities.
Six days later, things get ugly
Day Six: I got up at 5 a.m. to get ready for work and brewed a pot of coffee. I was getting up earlier than normal because it was so stinking hot that I couldn’t get a deep sleep. I’ve noticed the family and I are getting cranky at each other because we’re tired and miserable. Taking a morning shower was an eye opener. You would think as hot as the inside of the house was (82 degrees) a cold shower would feel good. NOT! By conserving hot water and taking quick showers in the morning, the three of us were able to get three days out of the electric water heater. I did not make provisions to hook up the hot water heater or an electric generator transfer switch because I didn’t expect an electrical outage of this duration.
power workers Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power
image by grytr
I decided not to go to work because I only have a couple of gallons of gasoline left, although the 5 gallon generator tank is topped off. A few more businesses have re-opened, but it’s still a mad house trying to get into the two gas stations now open. With all my empty gas cans I drove about 35 miles to find an open gas station. There were no lines, and I pulled directly up to the pump, filled up the cans with gas and the truck with diesel.
Upon returning home I really wanted a nice cold glass of ice water, but my wife had just emptied all our cheap plastic ice trays for someone up the street. She told me that the woman who asked for the ice was borderline rude and even asked when the next batch would be ready. People around here seem to be getting more demanding rather than appreciative.
More stores seem to be opening up but they sell out of ice and water as soon as a shipment arrives. I realized that if the situation got worse or went on much longer, formerly decent folks might turn into animals and demand, not ask!
Day 7 & 8: It was hot and more of the same. I was down to my last half case of bottled water. We were all cranky, tired, and ready for civilized life to return. I grew tired of listening to everyone’s complaints. I was tired of cold showers, shaving with cold water, taking a light into the bathroom to see. I was tired of automatically flipping the light switch and then realizing they wouldn’t work. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I decided that the very first thing I would do when things returned to normal was to purchase a room window air conditioner. The second thing I’m going to do is retire and move to the country and be as self sufficient as possible.
Day 9: At 6:07 that evening I was sitting in my recliner with sweat dripping off my sweat and thinking how I might make my wife’s life more miserable. The house lights momentarily flickered, and I smiled ever so slightly. Then, nothing.
Thirty or so minutes later, the house lights came on, the a/c started up and we all broke out in applause, but five minutes later it went out again. Bummer! Finally, ten long minutes later, which probably was the longest ten minutes ever, it was b-a-c-k, and it was on to stay. By 10 that evening the house was down to a comfortable 78 degrees and as I passed by the thermostat on my way to bed, I accidentally bumped it down to 60 degrees!
I’m here to tell ya’ll, that was the best night’s sleep a body could ask for
Update: I now live in the country and what a world of difference it is living on a few acres compared to the urban setting. That alone gives me piece of mind that should the S hit the fan, I don’t have to worry about close neighbors turning zombie.
No doubt different disasters will require different preparations and how people will react to them. The three major things I learned were:
(1) Even though my disaster was relatively minor in comparison to what could happen, until you actually experience a disaster, you don’t know how your preps will fare and what you might be missing if the situation lasts longer than what you’ve planned for.
(2) Under stress, hardship and extreme environments, people change, and in my experience not for the better.
(3) Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! I have flashlights scattered all over the house now for easy access, even in the dark. I’ve relocated some of my supplies in out buildings instead of storing them all of in the basement. I live within spitting distance of the New Madrid fault line and know that if we get the “big one” and my house is severely damaged or leveled, I’m S.O.L.
Do you have a first-hand account of surviving a disaster of some sort? Email it to mystory@thesurvivalmom.com
Lessons Learned from 9 Days Without Power | The Survival Mom
10 Key Outcomes From War With Iran That Few Are Talking About
Survivor Mike
March 6th, 2012
The Home for Survival
Comments (185)
Editors Note: Just about every decade over the last century has seen a major conflict somewhere in the world, and in one way or another the United States has found itself closely involved. While it’s impossible for us to predict exactly what leaders in America, Israel, Russia, China and Europe will do in response to claims that Iran is building nuclear weapons of mass destruction, from a preparedness and planning standpoint it is prudent to assume the worst. Israel has repeatedly called for the military option against Iran’s unabashed nuclear ambitions, all but confirming their plans for a first strike against the mid eastern nation.
While Iran may be considered by many to be insignificant on the grand chessboard, it is anything but. We can look to history to see how quickly a seemingly peaceful and stable society can devolve into chaos. Royal Hungarian prince Archduke Franz Ferdinand may also have been considered insignificant in his day and relatively unknown to the majority of the world’s population. Yet his assassination in June of 1914 catalyzed a war that had been brewing among monarchical, political and financial circles for decades.
Within a very short span of time nations were raising armies and men who had been working their fields just weeks before were marching to the front lines. Within six months battle lines had been drawn across the entire continent of Europe and millions of civilians and soldiers were dead.
If history has proven anything, it’s that when the bombs start flying events become wholly unpredictable and those in charge can quickly lose control.
In a world where nuclear weapons are on the table as a viable military option, the consequences of large-scale war can very seriously impact not millions, but hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people – and it can literally happen overnight.
Events in the middle east are going to heat up over coming months and one morning we may very well wake up to find that Israeli and American forces took action against Iranian nuclear facilities. What happens after that is anyone’s guess.
In the following article Survivor Mike of The Home for Survival outlines ten potentially devastating outcomes that we should plan for in the event the mid-eastern/north African theater of war is further expanded to include one of the world’s top oil producing nations, and one that is capable of a crushing counter strike against U.S. forces with weapons systems acquired from Russia and China.
10 Key Outcomes From War With Iran That Few Are Talking About
by Survivor Mike
Lately we’ve been hearing about when the inevitable war with Iran will begin. However, what is not widely reported is the type of consequences we’ll be dealing with after that war starts. A huge part of prepping your SHTF plan is taking the time to think ahead a few steps to what is likely to occur. Below are several consequences from an Iranian war that could impact your SHTF plan.
1. Lack of Help from Europe
The recession in Europe has been widely publicized in the mainstream media. However, if war starts with Iran, how willing do you think these European nations will be to send troops to assist? There is cost associated with that and many may not be in the position to incur that cost. In addition, Iran supplies a great deal of oil to the countries in Europe. Do you think Iran will continue to ship oil to countries that have committed troops to fight against them?
2. Drop In Travel
The likelihood that terrorist attacks would increase in a war time scenario is high. Therefore, travel to vacation destinations would become very dangerous. That, in turn, would negatively impact tourism for many countries that rely on it. In addition, the high gas prices will deter people from traveling – which is being seen already.
3. Gas Prices Rise (But More Than You Think)
OK, this one is pretty obvious. However, one consequence would be even higher gas prices than anticipated for a relatively obscure reason. If you noticed during the spikes of the past, the difference between regular and premium gas had huge variations. This is due to more folks moving from premium to regular for cost reasons. That builds more uncertainty on the demand for premium. The gas stations then need to price it more conservatively (higher) to ensure that swings in the market don’t have them selling at a loss.
When prices begin to soar, folks will look to reduce the amount of driving they do and thus drive the demand for gas down. This will result in uncertain demand for stations and they will need to price regular conservatively (higher) to assure their profits. In addition, the wild swings in the market will also mandate them to have a bigger cushion in their prices. Result: Even higher prices than anticipated.
4. Terrorism At Home
Anti-American (and likely anti-Israeli) sentiment will be at an all-time high. Iranian migrants (legal or illegal) will be watching their homeland ravaged. The more radical ones may decide that enough is enough and take matters in their own hands here in the US. Even radical Islamists could come to Iran’s aid by causing havoc on American soil. Safety will become a huge concern and businesses will suffer from it.
5. Gold Rush
Quite a bit has been written about gold spiking in the event of war with Iran. That spike in gold will result in even more demand for gold as folks will look to get their hands on it. Unfortunately, that demand will result in increased crime against jewelers and individuals. Indian-Americans will be targeted as they have a tradition of owning and wearing their gold. In India, having and wearing gold is a sign of prosperity and, for many, a means of savings vs. keeping money in banks. Thieves will target them in search of gold.
6. Who Steals Gas?
As gas prices climb, people will become more desparate to get it. It’s already started in some areas. “Pump and runs” have been on the rise (where people pump their gas and leave without paying. People have been siphoning gas from parked cars to get their hands on the gas. Some have even taken to drilling holes in fuel tanks and draining it into a bucket. Desparation will increase and with it, tensions.
7. Another Rebuilding?
Assuming the US is victorious in Iran, there will be expectations for us to rebuild the country. Who will be paying for this rebuilding as we did in Iraq? Yes, the US taxpayers will foot the bill. During the rebuild, don’t be surprised if the waste is similar to past efforts.
8. Inflation On Steroids
Many folks have been complaining about the rising price of food and other staples. However, during an Iranian war and subsequent rise in gas prices, we can expect a serious spike in food prices. Remember, gas is required to run the trucks that ship the food to the stores. When that spikes, you will see things really get tough.
9. Crime On The Rise
Due to the items above, folks will be desparate to survive and feed their family. People that would normally never consider breaking the law will have new incentive as they see their families’ struggling. A desparate man is a dangerous thing.
10. And What If We Can’t Win?
Many just assume the US with Israel would win a war with Iran. However, what if it becomes another Vietnam or Korea? Who knows exactly what weapons Russia and China have sold to Iran. Also, who knows how effective they will be against us. What an unmitigated disaster it would be to be stuck in a long, drawn out war with a difficult opponent. All this while 20% of the worlds’ oil is not flowing.
A hot topic in the Republican debates has been being “tough” on Iran. I have to say I agree with Dr. Ron Paul on this one. We’ve already picked enough fights across the globe. It’s not the time for our nation to be the world police – especially against an opponent with the resources of Iran.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Visit The Home for Survival for news, analysis, and preparedness guidance.
Top 10 Key Outcomes From War With Iran That Few Are Talking About
Report: Chance of a Catastrophic Solar Storm Is 1 in 8; Would Take Down Power Grid, Food Transportation, Water Utilities, Financial Systems
Mac Slavo
March 6th, 2012
SHTFplan.com
Comments (109)
http://www.shtfplan.com/wp-content/u...1063838321.jpg
According to a recent study published by Space Weather: The International Journal of Research and Applications, we have roughly a 12% chance of getting hit with a solar storm so powerful that it could take down the national power grid and yield catastrophic consequences for the general population.
Pete Riley, a senior scientist at Predictive Science in San Diego, is the author of the study which looks at the probability of the occurrence of extreme weather events:
Via: On the probability of occurrence of extreme space weather events
Key Points
- Probability of a Carrington event occurring over next decade is ~12%
- Space physics datasets often display a power-law distribution
- Power-law distribution can be exploited to predict extreme events
By virtue of their rarity, extreme space weather events, such as the Carrington event of 1859, are difficult to study, their rates of occurrence are difficult to estimate, and prediction of a specific future event is virtually impossible. Additionally, events may be extreme relative to one parameter but normal relative to others. In this study, we analyze several measures of the severity of space weather events (flare intensity, coronal mass ejection speeds)…
…
By showing that the frequency of occurrence scales as an inverse power of the severity of the event, and assuming that this relationship holds at higher magnitudes, we are able to estimate the probability that an event larger than some criteria will occur within a certain interval of time in the future. For example, the probability of another Carrington event occurring within the next decade is ~12%.
The 1859 Carrington Event, as described by Wired Science, may have been a marvel to observers and caused some setbacks in the developing telegraph infrastructure at the time, but a similar occurrence today could be a global game changer:
At the time of the Carrington Event, telegraph stations caught on fire, their networks experienced major outages and magnetic observatories recorded disturbances in the Earth’s field that were literally off the scale.
In today’s electrically dependent modern world, a similar scale solar storm could have catastrophic consequences. Auroras damage electrical power grids and may contribute to the erosion of oil and gas pipelines. They can disrupt GPS satellites and disturb or even completely black out radio communication on Earth.
During a geomagnetic storm in 1989, for instance, Canada’s Hydro-Quebec power grid collapsed within 90 seconds, leaving millions without power for up to nine hours.
The potential collateral damage in the U.S. of a Carrington-type solar storm might be between $1 trillion and $2 trillion in the first year alone, with full recovery taking an estimated four to 10 years, according to a 2008 report from the National Research Council.
The post-storm effects of such an event are underestimated by the majority of the world’s population, including our political leadership. Like an electro magentic pulse attack, according to the National Research Council a massive enough solar storm could have long term effects that ”would likely include, for example, disruption of the transportation, communication, banking, and finance systems, and government services; the breakdown of the distribution of potable water owing to pump failure; and the loss of perishable foods and medications because of lack of refrigeration.”
The worst case scenario has been outlined by the Center for Security Policy, which suggests that an EMP, or a solar storm that results in similar magnetic discharge across the United States, could potentially leave 90% of Americans dead within the first year:
“Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can’t support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity,” said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy. “And that is exactly what I believe the Iranians are working towards.”
In the documentary Urban Danger, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett warns of the threat posed by a downed power grid and urges his fellow citizens to take action to protect themselves for the inevitable results that would follow:
We could have events in the future where the power grid will go down and it’s not, in any reasonable time, coming back up. For instance, if when the power grid went down some of our large transformers were destroyed, damaged beyond use, we don’t make any of those in this country. They’re made overseas and you order one and 18 months to two years later they will deliver it. Our power grid is very vulnerable. It’s very much on edge. Our military knows that.
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There are a number of events that could create a situation in the cities where civil unrest would be a very high probability. And, I think that those who can, and those who understand, need to take advantage of the opportunity when these winds of strife are not blowing to move their families out of the city.
Source: Congressman Warns: “Those Who Can, Should Move Their Families Out Of the City”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGE1omIaRMI&feature=player_embedded
For many, a 1 in 8 chance of a catastrophic event occurring in a decade’s time may be nothing to worry about.
For the emergency, disaster and preparedness minded individual, however, a massive solar storm with the potential to take out our modern day power grid and utility infrastructure is just one in a variety of potentially catastrophic natural and man-made scenarios that could lead to the collapse of life in America as we know it today.
Though any given event on its own may have a low probability of occurrence, when combined with other potentialities like economic collapse, currency collapse, global or regional military conflict, Super EMP, political destabilization, massive earthquakes (such as on the New Madrid fault), Tsunamis, asteroids, pandemic, and cyber attacks the odds of a game changing paradigm shift in our lifetime’s rise significantly.
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-new...stems_03062012
4 Light-weight Collapsible Survival Water Storage Containers
March 5, 2012 By Creek
8 Comments
There is a reason why I post so much about WATER.
WATER IS CRITICAL TO OUR SURVIVAL!
Some experts say that the next greatest world resource shortage will be WATER. In many parts of the world, access to clean drinking water is already almost nonexistent. The ability to source, carry, store and disinfect water should be at the top of your survival preps and skill sets.
There are all kinds of different skills and products that are relevant to a discussion about SURVIVAL H2O. Today, I’d like to discuss 4 SMALL Collapsible Containers with BIG Potential.
First, why COLLAPSIBLE?
In many aspects of survival, portability is key. Containers that are collapsible make sense to the survivalist for several reasons:
- They weigh less
- They take us less space
- Can be carried easily in a BOB or BOV
Collapsible containers, however, are typically not as durable as their rigid counterparts. You will have to decide when portability outweighs durability.
Below are 4 Collapsible Water Containers that I own – each have a slightly different place and purpose in my survival tool chest of products. I detail why I own them, what I plan on or currently use them for, and where you can get them should you decide to add them to your survival preps.
The Water Bob
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/wp-con...waterbob-1.jpg
As you can see in the photo above, the Water Bob is a collapsible water liner that fits in your bath tub. In the event of a natural or man-made disaster, the Water Bob can be deployed in a matter of minutes and holds a staggering 100 gallons of water.
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/wp-con...waterbob-2.jpg
The Water Bob also comes with a siphon for drawing out smaller portions of water. Sure, you can just fill your bath tub up with no liner if you are desperate, but the food grade liner protects the water from A) Your nasty bath tub and B) Dust, debris, insects and air-born particles.
If you are limited on space for water storage in your house or apartment and you have a bath tub, the Water Bob might be a good solution for you. If you see this fitting into your survival mix, you can order one at http://www.waterbob.com/ for $24.95.
The 5-Gallon Collapsible Container
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I bought this container from http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/MLT4945-1.html for $9.97. Versions of this style container can be found in almost any camping section at any big box retailer. I’ve seem them in hunting stores like Gander Mountain and even Wal-mart. These are a great light-weight, portable solution for toting water from a water source back to camp or a Bug Out Location. They can also be frozen. This one is fitted with an easy ON/OFF spigot which is a nice feature.
The Jolly Tank
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The Jolly Tank is my new favorite survival water storage container. My friend (and occasional Guest Author on this site and owner of www.realitysurvival.com) JJ Johnson recently introduced me to the Jolly Tank. I’ve been in the survival biz for 15 years and have never seen this particular product. It holds 2 gallons of water or fuel (6 hour limit on fuel) and folds down to about the size of your wallet. And, it only weighs a few ounces. I’ve added one of these to my BOB, my Bronco and also to my in-home safe room. Trust me, I need one in my Bronco – that thing SUCKS THE GAS.
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JJ has done an excellent review on this item at http://www.realitysurvival.com/jolly-tank/. He also sells them for $10. Other than his site, I don’t know of anywhere else to get them.
The Platypus Water Bottle
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I’ve used a Collapsible Platypus Bottle ( http://cascadedesigns.com/platypus ) for as long as I can remember. I use it as 1 of my 3 Bug Out Bag water containers. I have the 2 liter version and it literally rolls up into nothing when empty. It’s the best use of space I can think of in a BOB. I’ve used the same one for over 10 years so I can attest to its durability. I love that I can reduce the bulk in my pack as I consume the water in this bottle. It is just one of those items that makes sense.
The Big Drawback
The obvious drawback of collapsible containers in their thin walled design. Though most of them are surprisingly durable, they are definitely more susceptible to being cut or punctured. This needs to be taken into consideration when using and packing these types of containers. In a survival scenario where weight is critical, the pros of these containers certainly OUTWEIGH the cons.
Are you using a collapsible container that the rest of us should know about? If so, tell us about it in the comments below.
Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,
Creek
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/featur...ge-containers/
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Someone’s Trash Could Save Your Life: How to boil & purify water in a plastic bottle
June 13, 2011 By Creek
2 Comments
I travel far and wide to experience nature. Even when I think I am completely remote in a secluded area it seems I still cannot completely escape human litter & trash. On almost every water-way I’ve ever traveled from rivers to lakes to oceans I’ve seen some kind of human litter floating or washed on shore.
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/wp-con...sh-300x225.jpg Plastic Bottle on River Shoreline
To a survivalist, however, someone’s trash can be a life-saving treasure. It really is amazing how you can use complete trash that we throw away everyday to help meet basic survival needs. It’s the simplest items that are the most useful in a situation when you have nothing. In this instance – a container for boiling water.
Boiling is 100% effective method of water purification. It kills bacteria, cysts and virus.
The ability to boil water can make the difference between life and death in any survival situation. With all of the plastic bottles scattered throughout our lands and waterways it is not unlikely for you to find one – even in a remote environment. If you can make fire, you can boil water using a plastic bottle. Here is how it’s done. Remove Cap & Suspend Over or Place Near the Fire
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/wp-con...ve-300x168.jpg Plastic Bottle with Water Hanging Over Fire
In this example, I propped a long stick up on a Y stick in the ground so I could easily control the height of the bottle over the fire. I suspended the plastic bottle of water using a piece of rope. I suspect I could have set the bottle close to the fire as well.
I kept the bottle at about 5-6″ over the coals and the flame licked the bottom on many occasions.
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/wp-con...on-300x168.jpg
It took about 15 minutes to bring the water to a rolling boil and I left it boiling for about 20 minutes after that. The bottle did distort in shape with the heat from the fire but the plastic did not fail. I think you could use the bottle several times to boil if necessary. I used a very thin walled plastic bottle so a thicker bottle would probably last longer. Do not leave the cap on unless you want a hot steam explosion. Below is a before and after picture of the bottle.
http://willowhavenoutdoor.com/wp-con...er-300x236.jpg BEFORE boiling (RIGHT), AFTER boiling (RIGHT)
As you can see the bottle actually SHRUNK during the heating/boiling process. I thought it would expand but it did not. The lesson here is to fill your bottle only 3/4 full to prevent spillage into your fire. If the wind is blowing hard you will also want to build a wind screen because the wind will effect your water temp in the hanging bottle and slow down the boiling process.
You never know when knowledge like this might come in useful.
Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,
Creek
Someone’s Trash Could Save Your Life: How to boil & purify water in a plastic bottle |
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SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA
Life in Argentina after the 2001 crisis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DicFARysseI&feature=player_embedded
FRACTURES, Part 1
Categories: Medicine and Health
by admin
March 7, 2012
http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/w...84-262x300.jpgBy Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy
www.DoomAndBloom.net
Hey Prepper Nation,
If we wind up in a situation where the you-know-what has hit the fan, we will be fending for ourselves; we’ll have to do a lot of strenuous activities that we will be unaccustomed to doing, and that means more injuries. Some of those injuries will be minor, but some may be severe such as breaking a bone. Let’s talk a little about fractures and how to identify them without the use of X-rays or other high technology.
When a bone is broken, it is termed a fracture. There are several types of fractures, but they are all either “closed” or “open”. A closed fracture is when there is a break in the bone, but the skin is intact. An open fracture is when the skin is broken. Sometimes the sharp end of a broken bone protrudes through the opening. Needless to say, there is usually more blood loss and infection associated with an open wound. The infection may be in the skin (cellulitis), the blood (sepsis), or the bone itself (osteomyelitis) and could be life threatening if not treated. If poorly managed, a closed fracture can become an open fracture.
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Various fractures; all are “closed” fractures except for the second from the left, which is “open”
The diagnosis of a broken bone can be simple, as when the bone is obviously deformed, or difficult, as in a minimal, “hairline” fracture. X-rays can be helpful to differentiate a small fracture from a severe sprain, but that technology won’t be available in a power-down situation. There are some ways to tell, however:
http://www.doomandbloom.net/wp-conte...3/fracture.jpg
Obvious Fracture
http://www.doomandbloom.net/wp-conte...okenankle3.jpg Not-so-obvious Fracture
- A fracture will manifest with severe pain and inability to use the bone (for example. The patient cannot put any weight whatsoever on a broken ankle). Someone with a sprain can probably put some weight, albeit painfully, on the area.
- More pronounced swelling and bruising will likely be present on a fracture than a sprain.
- A grinding sensation may be felt when rubbing a fractured limb.
- A deep cut in the area of the injury may be a sign of an open fracture.
- Motion of the bone in an area where there is no joint is another dead giveaway that there is a fracture. If you notice that your injured finger appears to have 5 knuckles, you’re probably dealing with a fracture!
Dealing with a fractured bone involves first evaluating the injured area for the above signs and symptoms. Use your bandage or EMT scissors to cut away the clothing over the injury. This will prevent further injury that may occur if the patient was made to remove their own clothing. Check the site for bleeding and the presence of an open wound; if present, stop the bleeding before proceeding further. See our article on treating the hemorrhagic wound:
http://www.doomandbloom.net/2011/09/...gic-wound.html
Fractures may cause damage to the patient’s circulation in the limb affected, so it is important to check the area beyond the level of the injury for changes in coloration (white or blue instead of normal skin color) and for strong and steady pulses. To see what a strong pulse feels like, place two fingers on the side of your neck until you feel your neck arteries pulsing. You will do this same action on, say, the wrist, if the patient has broken their arm. To see what normal circulation does to coloring, press hard on your middle finger with your thumb, then release quickly. You will see the compressed area go from white to pink in less than two seconds if your circulation is normal. If the circulation is bad, it will stay white or turn blue. Next, lightly prick the patient in the same area with a safety pin to make sure they have normal sensation. If not, the nerve has been injured.
http://www.doomandbloom.net/wp-conte...ds-300x153.jpg
Evidence of Poor Circulation: white or blue fingertips
If the bone has not deformed the extremity, a simple splint will immobilize the fracture, prevent further injury to soft tissues and promote appropriate healing. Popular commercial splints such as the SAM (Splint, Aluminum, Malleable ) splint are useful but you could improvise by wrapping a pillow around the injury and securing with duct tape. This method gives both immobilization and padding. Even some sticks and strips of cloth from a T-shirt will do in a pinch.
http://www.doomandbloom.net/wp-conte...nt-300x200.jpg
Pillow Splint
Oftentimes, the bone will be obviously bent or otherwise deformed, and the fracture must be “reduced”, that is, replaced so that the broken ends of the bone are realigned. Although this will be painful, normal healing and complete recovery will not occur until the two ends of the broken bone are realigned to their original position. This is best performed with two people, and will be painful to perform. If you don’t reduce the deformity, however, you will get this:
http://www.doomandbloom.net/wp-conte...urehealing.bmp
In this case, you see an obvious fracture of the femur (thighbone) on the left. For one reason or another, this fracture was not reduced. The bone still wants to heal, and the middle E-ray show the bones trying to connect even though the fracture was not reduced. On the right, you see the end result: One leg shorter than the other, and a very likely candidate for a future fracture due to the weakness of the scar.
We’ll discuss more about the procedure to reduce a fracture and other factors in assuring good healing in our next article….
Dr. Bones
FRACTURES, Part 1 : American Preppers Network
Surviving a harsh winter
Categories: emergency preparedness, water storage, winter, Winter Survival
by admin
February 24, 2012
By concretegardenstx
http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/w...sm-300x225.jpgThis post may seem a little odd now, as it seems like most people (well, at least here in TX) are having very warm weather. But as we all know, weather can be unpredictable, and you never know when you will get that March storm that makes it seem like TEOTWAWKI.
I actually had my own mini collapse a few years back. We were living in a rural area, when a sudden winter ice storm knocked out power for a week, and we even lost water for a day. We weren’t preppers back then, but we managed to make it through with what we had. I’d like to share my experience and offer some tips on what we did right, and what we learned from it all.
The foremost concern we had at the time was keeping warm. It helped that we had a fireplace, and firewood already. I cannot stress this enough that I feel that having a fireplace, or a woodstove, or some other non electric heat generator should be a must if you live in a cold climate. I made sure that when we went looking for a new house, we had to have a fireplace. But you also have to make sure that you have wood. We had some wood on the rack, but some wood was at the end of the property that had been cut by the electric company, and trudging down to the end of the property in the cold snow and ice is not fun. Don’t be lazy, always make sure that your wood is where it should be! The other thing you need to figure in is ashes. Running your fireplace 24/7 for a week generates a LOT of ash! We were lucky that it wasn’t too long after Christmas, and those lovely metal popcorn tins were great canisters to hold the hot ash (just be careful, wear gloves, as the canisters heat up quickly!) and let the cans cool off outside, to be emptied and used again. Another important way to keep warm is blankets. Not just any blankets. I highly recommend getting as much fleece as possible. I was working on a craft project, so I had a lot of large, uncut pieces of fleece. The fleece retains heat amazingly well! I also remembered I had a fleece shirt, so I wore that the whole week. I recommend checking the fabric stores for when fleece goes on sale, and stocking up on pieces, maybe about 2 yards or so. If you can sew, even better! Make some nice flannel shirts, pants, booties, whatever! Don’t forget to utilize your pets. If you have cats, dogs, or whatever, let them under the covers with you!
After heat, you need to make sure that you have enough water. All you good little preppers out there probably have enough water, but we didn’t have any. We had water until one day the water just stopped. It turned out that the RWD that provided our water lost electricity, so they were unable to pump water to us. If the power goes out, fill all the containers that you can with water, just in case. You can also use fresh snow, just make sure you boil it first! And never take it in in snow form, as it does not hydrate you. Don’t forget to have extra for flushing the toilet!
As good little preppers, I’m sure you have enough food. If it’s cold, anything in the freezer or even fridge would store well outside. We put our stuff in a cooler and put it outside, making sure it was secured so no animals could get into it. One device we had was a long two pronged fork. I suppose it’s used for campfires, but it worked great with cooking hotdogs in the fireplace. We also had a handheld butane torch, which worked great for making grilled cheese sandwiches. We were lucky enough that we still had our natural gas supply, so I was able to cook on the stove top (the oven had an electric ignition, so we couldn’t use that). PLEASE make sure that there is nothing on your stove before you use it. I missed seeing an electrical cord to an appliance that happened to be on the burner, and couldn’t figure out what the horrible smell was. Imagine it being 20 degrees outside and having to open the doors trying to get the smoke out of the house! I would also recommend knowing where your gas line is coming into your house, and how to turn it off. In a snowstorm, gas is great, but if there is a bomb or earthquake you may want to shut that off.
Lighting is something that will make the nighttime bearable. It gets dark early in the winter, and not having enough light is boring, and after a week it’s miserable. We did have a hand crank LED flashlight, but only one. I had a mini LED booklight that I clipped to my shirt to try and crochet, but it was hard on the eyes after awhile. Oil lamps are great as long as you are careful, and battery operated lamps are good too, as long as you have some sort of solar recharger for your battery. What I wish I would have had was solar powered garden lights. I like to put as many of these in my garden as possible. They can charge during the day, and I can bring them in at night to illuminate the darkness. As much as I love candles, I don’t think they are good for long term luminescence, as they don’t give off a lot of light and they can burn quickly. There is also the risk of a fire hazard!
I’ll never forget our adventure, and the lessons I learned from it. We were all pretty proud for surviving it, but I know that with my preps now we can handle it even better.
Surviving a harsh winter : American Preppers Network
Don't forget our medical preparedness blog at www.doomandbloom.net, ranked #27 in the last two Top 50 Survival Blog rankings!
Thanks,
Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drbones
That is a good site
PS this is the link I have and use
Free Medical Guides! | Doom and Bloom (TM)
Australian Bill Allows for Sterilizations Without Parental Consent at Any Age
http://d2qa3wogde0f8d.cloudfront.net...s1-220x137.png
Anthony Gucciardi
NaturalSociety
March 5, 2012
Following the call by ethicists for after-birth abortions and the press explosion surrounding the ‘Euthanasia Coaster‘, new legislation from Australia is now paving the way for children of any age to consent to sterilization — without parental consent. That’s right, if a psychiatrist determines that a child under the age of 18 years is ‘sufficiently mature’, they will be sterilized without any say from the parents. Again, there is no age minimum, as long as they are ‘mature‘ enough.
The legislation, known as the ‘Draft Mental Health Bill 2011′, also allows for 12-year-olds to consent to psychosurgery and electroshock. You can view the bill for yourself on the Australian Mental Health government website. Written by the Western Australia Mental Health Commission (MHC) and overseen by Mental Health Commissioner and clinical psychologist Mr Eddie Bartnik, objections can still be submitted to Australian parliamentary members in each state until March 9th.
Some main points of the bill read:
Action will need to be taken to make sure the bill does not pass. Objections can be sent to the Mental Health Commission and to Australian state legislators. Feedback options come to a close on the 9th of March at 5pm, so it is important to voice your opposition today.
- CHILDREN OF ANY AGE TO CONSENT TO STERILISATION: If a psychiatrist decides that a child (under 18 years) has sufficient maturity, he or she will be able to consent to sterilisation. Parental consent will not be needed. Only after the sterilisation procedure has been performed does it have to be reported and then only to the Chief Psychiatrist. [Pages: 135 & 136 of the Draft Mental Health Bill 2011]
- 12 YEAR OLDS WILL BE ABLE TO CONSENT TO PSYCHOSURGERY: Banned in N.S.W. and the N.T., psychosurgery irreversibly damages the brain by surgery, burning or inserting electrodes. This draft bill proposes to allow a 12 year old child, if considered to be sufficiently mature by a psychiatrist, to be able to consent to psychosurgery. Once the child has consented it goes before the Mental Health Tribunal (MHT) for approval. Parental consent is also not needed for the MHT to approve the psychosurgery. [Pages: 108, 109, 110, 197,198, 199, 213]
- 12 YEAR OLDS WILL BE ABLE TO CONSENT TO ELECTROSHOCK (ECT): Electroshock is hundreds of volts of electricity to the head. Any child aged 12 and over, whom a child and adolescent psychiatrist decides is “mature” enough, will be able to consent to electroshock. Also, once consent is given, there is no requirement for parents or anyone, including the MHT, to approve the electroshock. Electroshock should be banned. Its use on the elderly, pregnant women and children is especially destructive. [Pages: 100, 101, 103, 104, 194, 105]
Here are a few ways to contact the Mental Health Commission and state your objection to the bill:
- Mail: GPO Box X2299 Perth Business Centre, W.A. 6847
- Find Australian Mental Health Ministers, Health Ministers and local Members of Parliament: www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/memblist.nsf/WAllMembers
http://naturalsociety.com/australian...nt-at-any-age/
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ADHD Diagnoses More Common in Younger Children
Mike Barrett
Prisonplanet.comMarch 7, 2012
A recent study has found that of every child in the same school grade level, the younger children are more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) than children months older. Although these children are noticed and targeted first — undoubtedly for their less mature behavior, the increase in prescriptions for ADHD medications over the years shows that the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industry are continually lessening the conditions upon which a child can be diagnosed with ADHD.
Younger Children Targeted for ADHD Diagnosis
In British Columbia, the cutoff date for entering school in any year is December 31st, making children born in January the oldest in their grade and children born in December the youngest. Researchers looked at approximately 1 million children ages 6-12 diagnosed with ADHD and found that those born in December were 39 percent more likely to be labeled as having ADHD and 48 percent more likely to be treated with ADHD medication than those born in January.
“Our study suggests younger, less mature children are inappropriately being labeled and treated…it is important not to expose children to potential harms from unnecessary diagnosis and use of medications.”, study researcher Richard Morrow, of the University of British Columbia, said.As rates of ADHD escalate each year, more and more children are stricken by not the ‘disorder’, but the medication that is prescribed to fix it. ADHD has become one of the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorders today, with an average of 9 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 being diagnosed with the disease each year. Over 18 million prescriptions were written for Adderall in 2010, up 13.4 percent from 2009. The massive increase has actually led to ADHD medication shortages, where pharmaceutical companies are actually struggling to acquire enough of the active ingredient used in the drugs to ‘treat’ the ADHD label.
Children are prescribed these behavior altering drugs, which alter their brain chemistry and lead to more serious problems like depression and drug dependencies later in life. Pharmaceuticals are only a temporary fix that do not address the fundamental issues behind ADHD, or any disorder for that matter. The lack of necessity regarding these pharmaceuticals has even sparked outcry against antipsychotics by mainstream health officials.
Aside from an epidemic of misdiagnoses, an improper diet has everything to do with children expressing what would be viewed as ADHD-like behavior. For parents with children labeled with ADHD, try the simple test of helping to alter your child’s diet.
This article first appeared at Natural Society
Prison Planet.com » ADHD Diagnoses More Common in Younger Children
Monsanto’s Roundup Shown to be Ravaging Butterfly Population
Mike Barrett
Prisonplanet.com
March 6, 2012
Monsanto’s Roundup, containing the active ingredient glyphosate, has been tied to more health and environmental problems than you could imagine. Similar to how pesticides have been contributing to the bee decline, Monsanto’s Roundup has been tied to thedecrease in the population of monarch butterfliesby killing the very plants that the butterflies rely on for habitat and food.
What’s been shown to be an even greater threat to the population, though, is Monsanto’s Roundup Ready corn and soybeans.
Roundup Ready Crops and Glyphosate Leading to Downfall of Insect Populations
A 2011 study published in the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity found that increasing acreage of genetically modified Roundup Ready corn and soybeans is heavily contributing to the decline in monarch butterfly populations within North America. Milkweed, a plant butterflies rely on for habitat and food, is being destroyed by the heavy use of glyphosate-based pesticides and Roundup Ready crops.
Over the past 17 years, the monarch butterfly population in central Mexico has declined, reaching an all-time low in 2009-2010.
‘This milkweed has disappeared from at least 100 million acres of these row crops,’said Dr. Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and director of the research and conservation program Monarch Watch. ‘Your milkweed is virtually gone…this [glyphosate use on RR crops] is the one main factor that has happened…you look at parts of the Midwest where there is a tremendous use of these crops and you see monarch populations dropping. It’s hard to deny the conclusion.’
According to the Department of Agriculture, in 2011 94 percent of soybeans and 72 percent of corn grown in the United States were herbicide-tolerant. Due to this increase, the amount of Roundup used on crops in 2007 was 5 times higher than in 1997, only one year after Roundup Ready crops were available.
Another study published int he journal Crop Protection and conducted by Robert G Hartzler, an agronomist at Iowa State, found that milkweed on farms in Iowa declined 90 percent from 1999 to 2009. Additionally, his study found milkweed only on 8 percent of corn and soybean fields surveyed in 2009, which is 51 percent lower than in 1999.
Although the butterfly population may be suffering, humans are taking heat from Monsanto’s creations as well. Past research has shown that Monsanto’s Roundup ready crops are leading to mental illness and obesity, primarily by destroying the amount of good bacteria found in the gut. The corporation’s Roundup, containing glyphosate, has also been shown to cause infertility and birth defects.
Glyphosate is so present today that it has been found to be polluting the world’s drinking water through the widespread contamination of aquifers, wells, and springs. What may be most shocking is that very high concentrations of glyphosate have been found in 100 percent of urine samples tested in a recent study.
This article first appeared at Natural Society
Prison Planet.com » Monsanto
Just Something Interesting and I guess it has to do with Long Term Survival ...lol .. providing you could out run them
America's Astonishing War Against The Cannibal Giants <--- Link
Amazing City Of Giants Found Off Georgia Coast <--- Link
http://beforeitsnews.com/ckfinder/us...e_giant(1).jpg
Smoke, Mirrors, and the 'Disappearance' Of Polio
Tuesday, March 6th 2012 at 7:00 pm
by Dr. Suzanne Humphries
November 17, 2011“The tendency of a mass vaccination program is to herd people. People are not cattle or sheep. They should not be herded. A mass vaccination program carries a built-in temptation to oversimplify the problem; to exaggerate the benefits; to minimize or completely ignore the hazards; to discourage or silence scholarly, thoughtful and cautious opposition; to create an urgency where none exists; to whip up an enthusiasm among citizens that can carry with it the seeds of impatience, if not intolerance; to extend the concept of the police power of the state in quarantine far beyond its proper limitation; to assume simplicity when there is actually great complexity; to continue to support a vaccine long after it has been discredited;… to ridicule honest and informed consent.1”There is plenty of confusion on the topic of vaccination, especially amongst brainwashed doctors who trusted their medical schools. Then the unsuspecting, trusting public trusts them…because the medical establishment must know best, right? And doctors are nice people, trying to do a good thing. True. I was once one of those brainwashed doctors who believed in the benevolence of the medical system and believed that all I learned was the best that modern times had to offer. It is blazingly clear to me now though, that much of what is taught in medical school is enormously limited. I now see that most doctors are little more than blind slave-technicians who follow the dogma they were taught and were rewarded for repeating, even as the truth unfolds in front of them dictating otherwise.
Unbeknownst to most doctors, the polio-vaccine history involves a massive public health service makeover during an era when a live, deadly strain of poliovirus infected the Salk polio vaccines, and paralyzed hundreds of children and their contacts. These were the vaccines that were supposedly responsible for the decline in polio from 1955 to 1961! But there is a more sinister reason for the “decline” in polio during those years; in 1955, a very creative re-definition of poliovirus infections was invented, to “cover” the fact that many cases of ”polio” paralysis had no poliovirus in their systems at all. While this protected the reputation of the Salk vaccine, it muddied the waters of history in a big way.
Even during the peak epidemics, unifactorial poliovirus infection, resulting in long-term paralysis, was a low-incidence disease 2 that was falsely represented as a rampant and violent crippler by Basil O’Connor’s “March Of Dimes” advertising campaigns. At the same time as Basil O’Connor was pulling in 45 million dollars a year to fund the Salk vaccine development, scientists started to realize that other viruses like Coxsackie, echo and enteroviruses, could also cause polio. They also discussed the fact that lead, arsenic, DDT, and other commonly-used neurotoxins, could identically mimic the lesions of polio. During the great epidemics in the United States, the pathology called polio was reversed by alternative medical doctors who attested to great success, using detoxification procedures available at the time – yet they were categorically ignored 3.
Now it is admitted in the medical literature that other viruses can cause polio, yet few people on the street have any idea.
Prior to 1954, the following undoubtedly hid behind the name “poliomyelitis”: Transverse Myelitis, viral or “aseptic” meningitis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)- (what Franklin Delano Roosevelt had)4, Chinese Paralytic syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, epidemic cholera, cholera morbus, spinal meningitis, spinal apoplexy, inhibitory palsy, intermittent fever, famine fever, worm fever, bilious remittent fever, ergotism, post-polio syndrome, acute flaccid paralysis(AFP).
Included under the umbrella term “Acute Flaccid Paralysis” are Poliomyelitis, Transverse Myelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, enteroviral encephalopathy, traumatic neuritis, Reye’s syndrome etc.
Before you believe that polio has been eradicated, have a look at this graph of AFP and Polio. If you are wondering why there is no data prior to 1996, go to the WHO website for AFP and you will see that there is no data prior to 1996, and note that AFP conitnues to rise in 2011. Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) is just another name for what would have been called polio in 1955, and is used to describe a sudden onset of paralysis. It is the most common sign of acute polio, and used for surveillance during polio outbreaks. AFP is also associated with a number of other pathogenic agents including enteroviruses, echoviruses, and adenoviruses, among others. But in 1955, there was no attempt to detect anything other than polio in cases of AFP. Once the vaccine was mass marketed, the game changed.
When people ask me where all the children on iron lungs are, I would answer that they should ask Dr. Douglas Kerr from Johns Hopkins, who stated on pg. xv in the Forward to Donna Jackson Nakazawa’s book “The Autoimmune Epidemic”…“Infants as young as five months old can get Transverse Myelitis, and some are left permanently paralyzed and dependent upon a ventilator to breathe… my colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and I hear about or treat hundreds of new cases every year.”Does the public have any idea that there are hundreds of cases of something that would once have been called polio, and some of those children will be dependent on a modern version of the iron lung? No. Parents today think that the Salk vaccine eliminated any need for ventilators, because the pictures of all these children on iron lungs are no longer paraded in front of people in order to create fear. Besides which, today’s “iron lungs” don’t look like a prototype submarine. They are barely recognizable as today’s “ventilators.”
The polio vaccine had the fastest licensing in FDA history. It was approved for commercial production after only a two-hour deliberation amongst the Licensing Committee, in a pressured environment. These scientists witnessed a vaccine that was escorted to market, before academic and community doctors had a chance to read any published reports on the safety studies, and before the results of the big polio vaccine trial made it into any medical journal. If these scientists had had more say, it is likely that the “Cutter” disaster and the “Wyeth problem,” both events that led to crippling or death of vaccine recipients just weeks following the hurried vaccine licensing – could have been averted.“Previously it [the vaccine] had been distributed as an experimental product, not a licensed product…the committee was asked to come to a decision very quickly…there was discussion of the report that Dr Francis had given, but we were not in a position to discuss it very intensively because we had not seen the report prior to this morning and the report was distributed to us after the presentation…we were pressured in the sense that we were told that speed was essential, and when we came up toward the 5:00 time, some of us felt we would like to discuss this matter more. We were told that to discuss the matter further it would have to go into the following week, and we would have to go to Washington or Bethesda and most of the members were unwilling to do so. We were in effect pressured into an earlier decision than we ordinarily would have made. …It was part of the pressure of events, put it that way.5 ”And that is only the beginning of the polio story, the likes of which currently serve as the foundation of modern belief in vaccination, even by those who may have doubts regarding current vaccine policy.
No vaccines are safe. Having “efficacy” means an antibody response is generated, not that they keep you from getting sick. There are many other ways to keep children healthy other than injecting them with disease matter, chemicals, animal DNA, animal proteins, detergents and surfactants that inflame and weaken the blood brain barrier, potentially causing inflammation and other problems.
Do you know how much doctors learn about vaccines in medical school? When we participate in pediatrics training, we learn that vaccines need to be given on schedule. We learn that smallpox and polio were eliminated by vaccines. We learn that there’s no need to know how to treat diphtheria, because we won’t see it again anyway. We are indoctrinated with the mantra that “vaccines are safe and effective” – neither of which is true.
Doctors today are given extensive training on how to talk to “hesitant” parents – how to frighten them by vastly inflating the risks during natural infection. They are trained on the necessity of twisting parents’ arms to conform, or fire them from their practices. Doctors are trained that NOTHING bad should be said about any vaccine, period.
Historically it has been commonplace, since the times of the deadly smallpox vaccines – to discourage or silence scholarly, thoughtful and cautious opposition to mass vaccination policies. This is politics, plain and simple, in the environment of cronyism and corporatism that has invaded the supposed health-care industry.
The opinions of learned anti-vaccinationist doctors are not permitted on CNN, Fox News, or in mainstream literature. Probably because if they were broadcast on such media outlets, the unsuspecting public would do an about-face. Instead, the publicity that mainstream media concedes, often involves a parent who is opposed to vaccination, after a child becomes vaccine-injured, matched up with a celebrity talking-head doctor. Dr. Stork had an all-out tantrum after JB Handley got some sense interjected (from the audience!) during Jenny McCarthy’s invite (video).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oEtF8FdqpA&feature=player_embedded
For now, let’s just ignore Dr. Sears’ utter delusion over the history of vaccination and the decline in infectious disease. Having JB Handley on the program with the audience clapping for him, without editing him, was an unusual event. The standard approach on commercial television is to pretend that there is no anti-vaccinationist doctor to match the celebrity doctor, or those of the Paul Offit genre. Therefore, they can only invite and publicly defeat those whom they underestimate. Cheers to JB for getting an edge in. This is simply how the game of vaccination has always been played; keep the opinions of thoughtful and informed doctors and scientists out of the way of the cameras and peer-reviewed journals, and only allow the anti-vaccine perspective limited representation.
If you have doubts on the safety and effectiveness of vaccination, please keep your curiosity up, since the lives of your children may depend on it. You will probably have much deprogramming to do, just like most of us had.
International Medical Council on Vaccination | www.vaccinationcouncil.orrDr. Humphries is on the board of directors of the International Medical Council on Vaccination. She lives in Maine, USA.
Visit her website is drsuzanne.net
1. Statement from Clinton R. Miller, Intensive Immunization Programs, May 15th and 16th, 1962. Hearings before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce House of Representatives, 87th congress, second session on H.R. 10541.
2. Meier, P. 1978. “The biggest public health experiment ever: The 1954 trial of the Salk poliomyelitis vaccine.” Statistics: A Guide to the Unknown, Ed. J. M. Tanur, el al., pp. 3-15. San Francisco: Holden Day.
3. [1952] The Poison Cause of Poliomyelitis And Obstructions To Its Investigation by Ralph R. Scobey, M.D.
4. Goldman.2003.”What was the cause of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s paralytic illness?” J Med Biog, 11:233-240.
5. Opening brief of Defendant and Appellant Cutter Laboratories Gottsdanker v. Cutter Laboratories (1960) 182 Cal. App.2d 602 pp. 31-33.
Smoke, Mirrors, and the
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
Smoke, Mirrors, and the 'Disappearance' Of Polio | GreenMedInfo | Blog entry | Natural Medicine | Alternative Medicine | Integrative Medicine | Consumer Advocacy
Is This Fruit Extract 10,000 Times Better Than Chemo?
Tuesday, March 6th 2012 at 3:00 pm
by Sayer Ji
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/sites/de...images/ggg.png
Over a quarter of a century ago a study was performed on the seeds of the Soursop fruit, also known as graviola, which at that time demonstrated such amazing cancer-fighting potential, that those exposed to it within the conventional medical community looked upon it with complete incredulity.
Published in the Journal of Natural Products in 1996, Compound 1, one of five extracted from the seed of the graviola fruit, was found to be “selectively cytotoxic to colon adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29) in which it was 10,000 times the potency of adriamycin.”[emphasis added]
Adriamycin is the trade name for the chemoagent doxorubucin and is known by the nickname “red devil,” due to both its deep red color and terrible side effects, which include life-threatening, even fatal damage to the cardiovascular system. This abject lack of “selective cytotoxicity” -- the ability to kill only the cancer cells and not healthy ones -- is what makes Adriamycin so dangerous. And yet, it has been a first line treatment for a wide range of cancers for almost half a century.
Since the 1996 study, little research on graviola was performed. There was a cell study in 1999 which showed it had anti-prostate and breast cancer activity; another 2002 cell study showed that graviola exhibited anti-hepatoma (liver cancer) activity, but nothing as promising as the original 1996 study ever followed.
Then, in 2011, the journal Nutrition and Cancer revealed highly promising research on Graviola and breast cancer. Researchers found that graviola fruit extract (GFE) suppressed so-called oncogene (or cancer-causing gene) expression in the cell and animal models of breast cancer. The oncogene known as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is commonly over-expressed in breast cancer, and therefore an ideal target for therapy.
According to the researchers:
“A a 5-wk dietary treatment of GFE (200 mg/kg diet) significantly reduced the protein expression of EGFR, p-EGFR, and p-ERK in MDA-MB-468 [breast cancer] tumors by 56%, 54%, and 32.5%, respectively. Overall, dietary GFE inhibited tumor growth, as measured by wet weight, by 32% (P < 0.01).” [emphasis added]
The study authors concluded:
“These data showed that dietary GFE induced significant growth inhibition of MDA-MB-468 cells in vitro and in vivo through a mechanism involving the EGFR/ERK signaling pathway, suggesting that GFE may have a protective effect for women against EGFR-overexpressing BC [breast cancer].” [emphasis added]
Given these findings the time may be ripe for reconsideration of graviola in the prevention and/or treatment of cancers, such as colon and breast cancer.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
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Lack Of Skills Can Create Fear During An Emergency Or Disaster
March 12, 2012 by Peggy Layton
http://personallibertycom.files.word...0309_image.jpg
The better prepared you are and the more skills you have, the less fear and anxiety you will experience in case of an emergency or disaster situation.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed the brochure “Food and Water During an Emergency” that warns: “If an earthquake, hurricane, winter storm, or other disaster strikes your community, you might not have access to food, water, and electricity for days or even weeks. By taking some time now to store emergency food and water supplies, you can provide for your entire family.”
To protect yourself and your loved ones, learn how to stay warm, build a shelter, find and filter water, and build a fire. Also, be sure to stock emergency food and other fundamental items in your vehicle and bug-out bag.
One time, my husband and I were caught in a terrible blizzard 150 miles from home. We were outside for more than two hours trying to load a trailer. Luckily, we had a flashlight, gloves, hats, rope and a tarp. I thought I was going to freeze to death. We had to keep going until we could get out of there. I vowed never to leave home without an emergency backpack filled with items that would enable me to have warmth, shelter, water, fire and food — in that order.
Stay Warm
It is very important to keep warm clothing in your vehicle as well as in a backpack that you can easily grab as you head out the door. Pack warm socks, a hat, a sweatshirt, waterproof gloves, a waterproof jacket and snow pants. Also pack a tarp, a sleeping bag and wool blanket. If you have these items, you can bundle up and stay warm if you get caught in a storm or natural disaster or if you get stranded inside or outside your vehicle. Even when the weather is warm, sometimes it gets chilly at night; so keep these items packed year-round.
Build A Shelter
You should always find water and build your shelter before you build your fire. A good shelter is important for several reasons. Not only does it shield you from the elements, it can also hide you from scary animals and provide comfort. If an emergency comes up in the middle of the night, your main concern should be to make it through the night until you can properly assess your situation and get help. It is important to remain calm and in control. Depending on the situation you find yourself in, you will need to find a way to build an emergency shelter.
http://personallibertycom.files.word...pg?w=245&h=264Find And Filter Water
- Use fallen trees as a sleeping area that you can crawl into to get out of the weather. Use branches, leaves and other debris on top of the shelter so it stays dry like a thatched roof.
- If there are no fallen trees, find one that has thick tree branches that provides a canopy-like covering to shield you from the elements.
- Stack boulders and large logs as high as you can to break the wind.
- Put branches and pine needles down to lie on and keep you up off the cold ground.
- Get inside a cave or under an overhang to provide shelter from wind and rain. Stay close to the mouth of the cave so you don’t get lost, and be very aware of animals seeking shelter also.
- Stay in your vehicle if possible. If the vehicle is wrecked and unsafe, find shelter somewhere near it so you can be seen and rescued.
To purchase ION, click here.
- Carry water with you in your vehicle and in your bug-out bag.
- When drinking from a stream, be very cautious. Never drink from stagnant water. Always find a free-flowing stream or water source. Do not drink the water unless it has been boiled or filtered.
- If you cannot find a water source, look around for moss growing on trees. Because moss holds moisture, you can squeeze the moss and drip water into your mouth to stay hydrated.
- A hiking water filter is the best way to filter water. A Katadyn water filter is small so it doesn’t take up much space. This filter should be with your emergency supplies in your vehicle or backpack at all times.
- If you don’t have a filter, you must boil any water you drink or cook with. This kills the bacteria and makes the water safe.
- http://personallibertycom.files.word...jpg?w=86&h=115I always carry a product called ION water treatment in my vehicle and bug-out bag. ION stabilized oxygen kills all anaerobic bacteria on contact. It is lightweight and comes in a 2-ounce bottle. Put eight drops in a glass of water and stir. ION should be in every medical kit, car kit and 72-hour emergency bug-out bag.
Build A Fire
There are many methods you can use to start a fire without a match. Some are easier than others, and they all require a bit of practice. Practice building a fire when you go camping; it will help build your confidence.
Build your fire on dry ground that is flat and protected from the wind. Gather a large stockpile of tinder, kindling and larger branches and logs. The fire should be close to your shelter and close to a water source, if possible.
Stock Emergency Food
- You should have alternative methods of building a fire with you at all times. Carry newspapers, waterproof matches or lighters in your vehicle and bug-out bag. Other items might include long-lasting candles, a long fire starter, flint and steel. And always have a flashlight and waterproof gloves with you in case you need to find wood in the dark.
- A fire will not only keep you warm and dry, but it will give you a way to boil water to kill any anaerobic bacteria.
- A fire can calm you down in a stressful situation. It brings comfort and peace knowing you can stay warm and dry.
- Cooking emergency food over a fire is very important.
- A fire keeps insects and animals away.
- A fire can act as a signal for search and rescue.
This information came from my book Emergency Food Storage And Survival Handbook. Check it out here.
- Prepare two bug-out bags with food, water and a pot to boil water in. Keep one in the house and one in the vehicle. This will help to sustain your life until you can get help.
- The “Food and Water During an Emergency” brochure advises: “As you stock food, take into account your family’s unique needs and tastes. Familiar foods are important. They lift morale and give a feeling of security in times of stress.”
- Pack dried fruit, beef Jerky, drink mixes and other easy-to-open types of foods. I keep tuna in Mylar® pouches in my vehicle. If you have a cooking pot and water, you can cook ready-made emergency meals such as the ones I have talked about in other articles. They are called GoFoods. Everything is in the pouch except the water. They are easy to make and taste delicious. Check them out here.
Lack Of Skills Can Create Fear During An Emergency Or Disaster : Personal Liberty Alerts=
Traditional 6 Month Supply for 1 Person
http://peggylayton.net/media/ccp0/prodxl/1year.jpg
These cans are approximately 1 gallon size.
Packed for long term storage.
They will store for 15+ years.
After adding water the can will yield 3 to 4 times more food. This Traditional 6 month supply has 53 cans in 9 cases plus 1 (5 gallon) bucket of high quality wheat.
It contains dehydrated and freeze dried foods.
It provides 1400 calories and 39 grams of protein per day. This 6 month supply will serve two people for 3 months or 4 people for 6 weeks.
It is recommended that you supplement this pack with canned meats from the grocery store or freeze dried meats sold separately on this website.
The traditional 6 month supply for 1 person contains the following:
Vegetables
Carrot Dices (1 can)
Corn, Sweet Kernel, Freeze Dried (1 can)
Onions, Chopped (1 can)
Bell Pepper(1 can)
Peas, Sweet, Freeze Dried (1 can)
Tomato Flakes (1 can)
Potato hash browns (1 can)
Potato Flakes (2 cans)
Potato Slices (2 cans)
Textured Vegetable Protein
TVP Beef (1 can)
TVP Chicken (1 can)
Beans
Pinto Beans (2 can)
Small White Navy Beans (1 can)
Small Red beans (1 can)
Refried beans (2 can)
Adjuncts and Baking
White sugar (1 can)
Brown Sugar (1 can)
Baking Soda (1 can)
Salt (1 can)
Drinks
Apple Drink (1 can)
Peach Drink (1 can)
Fruits
Banana Slices (2 cans)
Pineapple Dices (1 can)
Strawberries, Freeze Dried (1 can)
Peaches, Freeze Dried (1 can)
Apple Cinnamon, Freeze Dried (1 can)
Dairy
Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (6 cans)
Dutch Chocolate Drink (1 can)
Cheddar Cheese (1 can)
Whole Egg (1 can)
Egg Mix (1 can)
Butter Powder (1 can)
Shortening Powder (1 can)
Grains
Granola, Apple-Cinnamon (1 can)
Oats, Quick (1 can)
Rice, Long Grain White (1 can)
Egg nooldes (1 can)
6 Grain Rolled Cereal Mix (1 can)
9 grain Cracked Cereal (1 can)
White Flour (1 can)
Soup mixes
ABC Soup (1 can)
Broccoli Soup Mix (1 can)
Vegetable Stew Mix (1 can)
Buckets (5 gallon)
Wheat ( bucket)
Cookbook
Cookin' With Home Storage, By Peggy Layton
The shipping charge of 179.00 is estimated. You will only be charged exactly what it costs. If it is less than the estimated charge your invoice will be adjusted. The main carrier is UPS, unless multiple orders are sent together to one address. Then it will be shipped freight line. Your shipping charges will be adjusted according to where you live.
Traditional 6 Month Supply for 1 Person
Eat Berries To Protect Your Aging Brain
March 14, 2012 by Sam Rolley
http://personallibertycom.files.word...0313_image.jpg
Researchers say that there is strong scientific evidence that eating blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and other berry fruits can benefit brain health.
An article recently published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry says that eating berries can keep the brain healthy and are very beneficial in preventing age-related memory loss and other changes.
Authors Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., and Marshall G. Miller write that longer lifespans are raising concerns about an increase in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of mental decline among populations and that prevention is the best protection against such ailments.
Berry fruits contain high levels of antioxidants that protect brain cells from damage by harmful free radicals, according to the research. The two also report that berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate.
The changes in signaling can prevent inflammation in the brain that contribute to neuronal damage and improve both motor control and cognition.
The researchers extensively reviewed research about the health effects of berries on cells, animals and humans to reach their conclusion.
Berries have many other health benefits including essential vitamins and minerals, and different types can be found and picked in the wild throughout the United States for a truly organic fruit.
Eat Berries To Protect Your Aging Brain : Personal Liberty Alerts=
Prepping For Zombies To Gain Real-World Survival Skills
March 14, 2012 by Sam Rolley
http://personallibertycom.files.word...0313_image.jpg
For preppers looking for a way to combine fun and survival preparedness training, Trackers Earth, a Portland, Ore.-based organization, offers a Zombie First Responder course that plays on the popularity of zombie films and television shows in recent years to encourage survival preparedness.
Over the course of two days, participants train for everything from wilderness and urban survival, Nerf or nerd weaponry, stealth and evasion and proper zombie “disposal.” The course places heavy emphasis on quick decision making in dangerous situations.
The organization says of the program:
The Trackers Rangers Guild teaches their own special brand of survival skills applicable in both an urban and wilderness setting. They tell you how to get out of town and into the woods as you strive to exodus major population centers.The organization also offers various non-zombie related survival training courses including a one-year “full immersion” survival-training program. More information is available on the Trackers Earth website.
Plus, they cover The Curriculum of Shadows, akin to a martial art, this unique philosophy uses shadows, silence, stealth and invisibility to help you guide your band of lone survivors through an earth populated by 6 billion creatures ravenous for your squishy brains.
While the course is centered on a fun fantasy scenario, some valuable survival skills that are more practical than zombie disposal are also addressed. Participants learn how to: build a fire with no matches, make and use primitive weaponry, build a wilderness shelter from available materials, bug out methods, foraging skills, campfire cooking and more.
Prepping For Zombies To Gain Real-World Survival Skills : Personal Liberty Alerts=
SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA
Life in Argentina after the 2001 crisis
Hot item to Steal: Tide!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Thanks SiriusBlack over at the Modern Survivalist forum for bringing this up
Doesn’t’ go bad, its expensive and used by everyone on frequent basis: Laundry detergent Tide!
Criminals are stealing it and later selling it to stores for below retail, even drug dealers are accepting it instead of cash, knowing a few bottles can be quickly sold and even 50% off retail leaves them a nice profit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV3wlWn1-Bc&feature=player_embedded
Expect more serious security at supermarkets in the not so distant future. I still remember the first time I saw a guard armed with a pump shotgun posted in front of a supermarket as food was being unloaded.
As things get worse, you’ll keep seeing more of this.
FerFAL
SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA: Hot item to Steal: Tide!
SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA
Life in Argentina after the 2001 crisis
The Seven Circles of Preparedness
Friday, March 9, 2012
Last year I wrote an article called “The Five Circles of Preparedness”. This video with a 6th and 7th circle would be an expanded version of said article.
1. Your Brain/Mindset/Skills
2. Your Body
3. Your Clothing and EDC Gear
4. Your Car/Office/Survival Stash/Home away from Home
5. Your Home
6. Your Neighborhood/City/State/Country.
7. Your Planet/Other Countries when yours is no longer an option.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOZyE0CNWU4&feature=player_embedded
FerFAL
SURVIVING IN ARGENTINA: The Seven Circles of Preparedness
Why Are Millions Of Americans Preparing For Doomsday?
March 13th, 2012
101 comments
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/w...ay-250x192.jpgAll over America, there are millions of Americans that are quietly preparing for doomsday.
They are turning spare rooms into long-term food storage pantries, they are planting survival gardens, they are converting their homes over to alternative sources of energy, they are taking self-defense courses and they are stocking up on just about anything you can imagine. They are called "preppers", and their numbers have absolutely exploded in recent years.
In fact, you might be living next door to one and never even realize it. According to a recent Daily Mail article, there are approximately 3 million preppers in the United States today. Others believe that the true number is significantly higher than that. This movement has become so popular that there are now even television shows being done about preppers.
The most popular is probably "Doomsday Preppers" on the National Geographic Channel. This movement is still growing and is not going to go away any time soon. In fact, as the world continues to become even more unstable it is likely that a lot more Americans will find themselves becoming preppers in the years ahead.
So what exactly are all these people so concerned about? Exactly why are there millions of Americans that are feverishly preparing for doomsday?
Well, the truth is that you will never find two preppers that are exactly alike. Some are deeply concerned about the potential for natural disasters and believe that we are now entering into a time when there will be catastrophic earth changes. Other preppers believe that terrorism is the most significant threat to our way of life. Killer pandemics, an EMP attack, World War III, martial law, solar megastorms, asteroid strikes and societal chaos are some of the other things that some preppers are worried about.
Of course an economic collapse is one of the biggest concerns for preppers, and without a doubt the U.S. economy is deeply troubled. A collapse of the financial system would change all of our lives permanently.
But it isn't just preppers that are concerned about these things.
A recent survey conducted by National Geographic asked Americans the following question....
"Which of the following, if any, do you think might happen in the United States in the next 25 years? Please choose all that apply."
These were the results....
Significant Earthquake 64%
Significant Hurricane 63%
Terrorist Attack 55%
Financial Collapse 51%
Significant Blackout 37%
Pandemic, Such as From a Super-Virus 29%
Nuclear Fallout 14%
None of These 13%
Obviously there are a whole lot of people out there that feel as though we are heading for some really bad stuff.
So if hard times are coming, why not prepare for them?
After all, none of us want to end up like the poor people of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Large numbers of people were herded into the Superdome and food and water ran out really fast. There was rampant looting of stores and people were shooting each other in the streets. It was mass chaos.
The following is what one Australian blogger experienced while staying in the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina....
Last night was horrendous. I heard shouting, and drinks machines being smashed. There’s no sanitation and it’s so smelly. My hair is greasy and I feel a wreck. There are crack alleys among the maze of corridors. The lights are broken in the loos which, as well as being disgusting, have become dangerous, so we now only go as a big group.As an article in the New York Times from that time period detailed, food and water were in very short supply and those cramped into the Superdome were rapidly becoming impatient....
More people are arriving, and the dome is like a refugee camp. I see two soldiers carrying a corpse and we hear there are more dead in the basement.
Desperation was in the air. Danielle Shelby tugged at a reporter's arm. "I have a handicapped daughter," she said. "She's over there with her wheelchair. She's hot. We don't have any water. I'm afraid she's going to have a seizure."Later on in that same article, we are told that there were fights, rapes and at least one suicide in the Superdome during that time....
Others crowded around. "I've been in the food line twice, and every time I get to the front they tell me they don't have any left," said Juanita McFerrin, 80.
It got worse. Ms. Rousell recalled hearing a loud bang Tuesday afternoon as the body of a man slapped the concrete at the edge of the football field in a fatal suicidal plunge, after he apparently learned that his home had been destroyed. Others told of fights that broke out in food lines, and of a husband and wife who slugged each other in a wild argument.To get an even better idea of what life in New Orleans was like in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, just check out this video.
Several residents said they had heard of children being raped, though it was not clear whether anyone reported such incidents to the authorities, and no officials could be found who could confirm the accounts.
Within just a few days food, water and supplies started pouring into New Orleans and things started slowly getting back to normal, but imagine what things would look like in this country if we had to deal with a national disaster that stretched on for months or even years?
Many preppers are not taking any chances. Many are absolutely determined to be able to take care of their families and friends no matter what the years ahead may bring.
ABC News recently profiled one prepper named Tim Ralston....
Tim Ralston, a married father of two from Arizona, is one such "prepper."Some preppers are going to the extreme and are spending huge amounts of money on their prepping.
"There's a lot of different things that could happen," Ralston said. "For me, I look at prepping as kind of like insurance. You have car insurance, health insurance, life insurance."
Call it Apocalypse insurance. Ralston turned his family's two-car garage into a staging area. Inside is a trailer, which he keeps packed and ready to go at all times, stockpiles of freeze-dried food, including cartons of canned chicken with a shelf life of 15 years, survival gear, such as a system for purifying polluted water, first aid kits and lots of weapons and ammunition. His son has his own AK-47.
CNN recently profiled one Australian prepper that has spent about $350,000 preparing for doomsday....
Bast has spent about $5,000 on stockpiles of food and water, and $11,000 on equipment including gas cookers, generators, batteries, water purifiers and solar power. He also purchased roughly an acre of land that's a 75-minute drive from Melbourne and 1,500 feet above sea level (in order to stay high and dry in case of a flood or tsunami). He has built a house there, as well as a bunker to serve as his "safe spot" in the event of an emergency. Together, the land, buildings and bunker have cost him a total of about $330,000.But the truth is that prepping does not have to be expensive.
He's also spent $10,000 on an 8-year old Toyota HiLux pickup truck to drive to his safe spot.
The key is to start by focusing on the five basics....
1) Food
2) Water
3) Shelter
4) Energy
5) Self-Defense
There are some practical things that just about anyone can do even if you don't have a lot of money.
For example, when you go to the store try to pick up a few extra items that are on sale and add them to your supplies. If you rotate your food supplies, they won't go bad.
In addition, just about anyone can plant a garden. Often fruits and vegetables are some of the most expensive items at the grocery store, and so growing a garden can end up saving you a lot of money.
Get educated. There are dozens of prepper websites out there where you can get an education in prepping for free. The following are a few examples of some of the excellent prepper websites that are out there today....
*Survival Blog
*American Preppers Network
*The Survival Mom
*SHTFPlan.com
*Prepper Website
*Survival 4 Christians
*Backdoor Survival
*Off Grid Survival
The truth is that our world is becoming increasingly unstable in a whole bunch of different ways and we all need to learn how to prepare for the difficult years ahead.
As the economy continues to fall apart, America is going to become a very heartless place. You don't want to be caught in the middle of societal chaos without a plan.
None of us should be relying on the government to save us when things hit the fan. We all saw what happened after Hurricane Katrina. Those that were depending on the government were deeply disappointed.
We should all try to become as independent of the system as we can, because the system is failing. In the years ahead there might not be anybody to help you and your family, so you need to be working hard right now to ensure that you and your family will be taken care of.
Yes, as you may have guessed by now, I am a prepper too. My wife and I moved to an entirely different state and totally changed our lifestyle to prepare for what is coming.
Hopefully this article will inspire many more Americans to prepare for what is coming. A great economic collapse is on the horizon and time is rapidly running out.
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/w...me-440x682.jpg
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Why Are Millions Of Americans Preparing For Doomsday?
Research: Pineapple Enzyme Kills Cancer Without Killing You
Post date:
Saturday, December 24th 2011 at 11:00 am
by Sayer Ji
Every once in a while a study pops up on the National Library of Medicine's bibliographic database known as MEDLINE that not only confirms the therapeutic relevance of natural substances in cancer treatment, but blows the conventional approach out of the water.
Published in 2007 in the journal Planta Medica, researchers found that an enzyme extracted from pineapple stems known as bromelain was superior to the chemo-agent 5-fluorauracil in treating cancer in the animal model. The researchers stated:
"This antitumoral effect [bromelain] was superior to that of 5-FU [5-fluorouracil], whose survival index was approximately 263 %, relative to the untreated control." [view entire study]
What is so remarkable about this research is that 5-FU has been used as a cancer treatment for nearly 40 years, and has been relatively unsuccessful due to its less than perfect selectivity at killing cancer, often killing and/or irreversibly damaging healthy cells and tissue, as well.
As a highly toxic, fluoride-bound form of the nucleic acid uracil, a normal component of RNA, the drug is supposed to work by tricking more rapidly dividing cells -- which include both cancer and healthy intestinal, hair follicle, and immune cells -- into taking it up, thereby inhibiting (read: poisoning) RNA replication enzymes and RNA synthesis.
The material safety data sheet (MSDS) for 5-FU states:
The dose at which 50% of the animals given the drug die is 115mg/kg, or the equivalent of 7.8 grams for a 150 lb adult human.
Keep in mind that a 7.5 gram dose of 5-FU, which is the weight of 3 pennies, would kill 50% of the humans given it. Bromelain's MSDS, on the other hand, states the LD50 to be 10,000 mg/kg, or the equivalent 1.5 lbs of bromelain for a 150lb adult, which means it is 3 orders of magnitude safer!
How then, can something as innocuous as the enzyme from the stem/core of a pineapple be superior to a drug that millions of cancers patients over the past 40 years have placed their hopes of recovery on, as well as exchanging billions of dollars for?
There is a well-known effect associated with a wide range of natural compounds called "selective cytotoxicity," whereby they are able to induce programmed cell death (the graceful self-disassembly known as apoptosis) within the cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells and tissue unharmed. No FDA-approved chemotherapy drug on the market today has this indispensable property (because chemicals don't have behave like natural compounds), which is why cancer treatment is still in the dark ages, often destroying the quality of life, and accelerating the death of those who undergo it, often unwittingly. When a person dies following conventional cancer treatment it is all too easy to "blame the victim" and simply write that patient's cancer off as "chemo-resistant," or "exceptionally aggressive," when in fact the non-selective nature of the chemotoxic agent is what ultimately lead to their death.
Keep in mind that bromelain, like all natural substances, will never receive FDA drug approval. Capital, at the present time, does not flow into the development of non-patentable (i.e. non-profitable) cancer therapies, even if they work, are safe and extremely affordable. This is simply the nature of the beast.
Until we compel our government to utilize our tax dollars to invest in this type of research, there will be no level playing field in cancer treatment, or any treatment offered through the conventional medical establishment, for that matter. Or, some of us may decide to take our health into our own hands, and use the research, already freely available on possible natural cancer treatment, to inform our treatment decisions without the guidance of the modern day equivalent of the "priest" of the body, the conventional oncologist, who increasingly fills the description of an "applied pharmacologist/toxicologist" - nothing more, nothing less.
To view additional research on the potential therapeutic properties of bromelain in over 30 health conditions, visit the open source, natural medical resource page on bromelain here.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
Research: Pineapple Enzyme Kills Cancer Without Killing You | GreenMedInfo | Blog entry | Natural Medicine | Alternative Medicine | Integrative Medicine | Consumer Advocacy
16 SHTF Barter Items to Stockpile
Debt Reckoning
March 15th, 2012
www.DebtReckoning.com
Comments (311)
The following article has been generously contributed by Tyler of Debt Reckoning – Get out of debt, build wealth, and get on with life.
Every good survivalist has a stockpile of things he or she recognizes their family may need to survive a natural or man-made disaster. However, many people forget the value of maintaining a barter store as well.
If things hit the fan, particularly in an economic collapse where the dollar is nearly worthless, a number of non-monetary goods will be more valuable than a fistful of dollar bills.
It’s also important to recognize that we can’t possibly store enough of every item to account for every scenario for an indefinite period of time. However, what we can do is have some items on hand to barter with neighbors to plug gaps in our preparations.
Imagine a neighbor with a large garden and some chickens trading a half dozen eggs and some squash for a box of ammo, or a small bottle of Vodka.
Consider stocking up on the following items, even if you have no plans to use them yourself, for their potential barter value.
16 Things to Stockpile with High Barter Value
Cigarettes. I hate smoking, and can’t stand being around anyone that smokes. Having said that, I recognize that in a SHTF situation many others will be cut off from their access to cigarettes, so there is plenty of barter potential.
Soap. Bars of soap, and even those little cleaning napkins/wipes that you get at the BBQ restaurants could be very valuable in a SHTF scenario. Ever see “The Book of Eli?”
Bullets. Obviously, it’s a good idea to have a decent store of ammo representing all calibers of the weapons you own. However, it is also a good idea to store extra ammo in common calibers (9mm, .22, .38, 12-guage shells, etc.) as a potential barter. After all, a gun without ammo is just an inacurate throwing object.
Alcohol. Alcohol could serve a variety of purposes in a SHTF situation. It is valuable as a potential bartering commodity, and it also has medicinal uses. Did you know Vodka is a great home remedy to counteract the reaction to poison ivy?
MREs. More portable and easier to barter than larger 5-gallon buckets, or even #10 cans of dried foods, MREs are great to have on hand for bartering. Keep a variety of flavors and different kinds of foods because you could be holding something that could complete a meal for a hungry person.
Silver Coins. Keep in mind this doesn’t necessarily mean only silver dollars with a full ounce of silver, but even older, less expensive coins with a high silver component (the 1964 Kennedy half-dollar, for example).
Detergent. Don’t think people are interested in bartering detergent? Check out the story about the recent rash of detergent thefts across the country. Apparently, Tide detergent on the black market is now referred to as “liquid gold.” Interesting.
Water bottles. To someone in bad need of water, a water bottle could be worth its weight in gold. Remember the rule of threes: you can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Store accordingly.
Matches and lighters. A box of matches is relatively inexpensive, but for someone needing to build a fire a pack of matches or a lighter could be very valuable. Be sure these are stored safely, and if they are not waterproof make them so by storing in a watertight container.
Sugar. My grandfather used to tell stories of things that were in limited supply in the Great Depression. Sugar was something he often mentioned. Imagine how easily you could win over a sweet-tooth with the promise of a bag of sugar in exchange for something you are short on.
Toilet paper. This one is rather self-explanatory, isn’t it? Sure, there are substitutes for Charmin, but who wants to keep using leaves when paper feels so much better.
Water Filters/Purifiers. Water purification drops and filters could mean the difference in offering family members treated water or potentially harmful, bacteria-infested water. Who’d be willing to trade for that?
Bleach. May be used to disinfect water, or keep living quarters and soiled clothing sanitized.
Batteries. Can be used to power up flashlights, radios, and other electronic devices.
Candles. Emergency candles would be a great barter item for those in need of providing some light to their living quarters without electricity.
What other items would you add to your barter store?
Contributed by Debt Reckoning. Hat tip The Daily Crux.
16 SHTF Barter Items to Stockpile
Tune Up Your Gun Handling
March 19, 2012 by Karl Rehn
http://personallibertycom.files.word...0316_image.jpgAll the photos taken to show these examples were done using a handgun with a training barrel or other non-firearm props, to ensure that no gun safety rules were broken.USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM
Over the past 20 years, I’ve taught everything from National Rifle Association Basic Pistol to Texas Concealed Handgun Licensing to Defensive Pistol Skills to students with a wide range of skill, experience and prior training.
As a competition shooter and customer of commercial ranges, I’ve had the opportunity to observe good, bad and ugly gun-handling habits. That experience has led me to accept an inconvenient truth about gun owners: Every gun owner believes that his or her gun handling is safe, regardless of how good or bad that gun handling is.
This is an example of illusory superiority: a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate their positive qualities and abilities and to underestimate their negative qualities, relative to others. It’s also known as the Lake Wobegon effect, because none of us believe we are below average.
That means, of course, that none of the discussion that follows applies to you, but you probably know someone who would benefit from this article. What separates a gun owner from a “shooter” is how you handle your gun during the 99 percent of the time you aren’t shooting it. Strive to be a “shooter” and ensure that your gun handling is safe 100 percent of the time.
Most gun owners can recite either the NRA’s Three Rules of Gun Safety or Jeff Cooper’s Four Rules, and they will claim (even as they violate one or more rules) that they obey those rules all the time. My observation is that while the absolute gun safety rules are common to all situations, their interpretation varies widely, particularly with regard to gun handling at commercial shooting ranges and less formal situations.
Most of them occur because the person handling the gun does not fully grasp the concept of “safe direction” and incorrectly believes that there is an “It’s OK; it’s unloaded” exemption.
In addition to basic gun safely rules, there are fundamental rules of range etiquette, such as only handling guns at the designated firing line, and stopping all shooting immediately if a cease fire is called. Those who have shot only in informal situations or at poorly supervised ranges often are unaware of these range etiquette policies.
What to do when you encounter one of the Terrible Twelve at a range or a gun shop? As they are in the act of committing one of these gun handling sins, ask them, “Would you be willing to fire a shot out of that gun, pointed where it is right now?”
Hopefully they will answer “No.” Then ask, “Then why are you pointing it in that direction?” If enough people start correcting others on these errors, perhaps we can indeed, all be above average in our safe gun handling skills.
NRA Three Rules
Jeff Cooper’s Four Rules Of Gun Safety
- Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction
- Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
- Always keep guns unloaded until ready to use.
The NRA rules are each stated as specific direction, with most important first. With the gun pointed in a safe direction, if you fire a round you didn’t intend to, it still goes in a safe direction. Cooper uses three of his rules (1, 2 and 4) to address safe direction in various ways. While he’s correct that failure to obey his Rule 3 is responsible for most negligent discharges, the safe gun handling failures described in the adjacent article are overwhelmingly a result of failing to follow NRA Rule 1 or the other three of Cooper’s rules.
- All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
- Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target. (This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.)
- Identify your target and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.
SOURCES: www.USConcealedCarry.com, NRA Gun Safety Rules, Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries, April 2003.
–Karl Rehn
http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...gut-racker.jpgThe Gut Racker This error most commonly occurs when the shooter rotates the pistol in his hand to be able to more easily lock the slide back. One solution to this problem is to insert an empty magazine and pull the slide back to engage the slide lock, instead of putting the gun in this clearly unsafe position. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...02-spinner.jpgThe Spinner This error typically occurs when the gun is carried in a rectangular case that gives no indication as to which direction the gun is pointed inside the case. The simple fix for this is to mark one end of the case as the muzzle end, and be consistent about always placing the gun in the case facing that direction. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...-03-cowboy.jpgThe Cowboy This practice is unsafe at all ranges except those which are fully baffled to block extremely high shots, and even in that situation, it’s clearly a case of pointing a gun in a direction that is not the intended target. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...-04-dangle.jpgThe Dangle This is also known as the “my gun is heavy” position and occurs when the person holding the gun gets mentally or physically fatigued, and simply lets the gun drop. Would you be willing to fire a loaded gun from that position? If not, then it’s unsafe. How to avoid this? Holster the gun or set it down on a downrange table or bench. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...cheapskate.jpgThe Cheapskate Last year, a shooter in Houston was shot in the leg and suffered serious injury when a range customer took an uncased rifle out of his vehicle. The trigger of the rifle snagged on something in the vehicle, causing the loaded, off-safe rifle to fire. How to avoid this? Carry your guns in cases, bags, boxes, holsters — something that covers the trigger guard of the gun. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...ide-racker.jpgThe Side Racker This is why the dividers between stalls at indoor ranges are bulletproof. As I heard one range user say to a side racker, “If it’s OK for you to point your loaded gun at me, that means it’s OK for me to point my loaded gun at you, right?” If you physically cannot rack the slide without using this technique, the solution is simple: Turn your lower body 90 degrees so that your muzzle is pointed downrange, and not at the person next to you. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...one-ranger.jpgThe Lone (Up) Ranger Don’t handle your gun when you are behind the firing line. If you are on the firing line, don’t handle your gun when shooters are downrange resetting targets. Is it possible to handle your gun behind the firing line and keep it pointed in a safe direction? Maybe, but unless you are under attack, there’s no reason to violate range etiquette rules. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...ca-08-muff.jpgThe Muff This often occurs immediately after the user has already fired one shot without hearing protection, and they reach to adjust their earmuffs, loaded gun in hand, pointed at the sky. Would you be willing to fire a loaded gun from that position? If not, then it’s unsafe. How to avoid this? Holster the gun or make it safe and set it down on a downrange table or bench. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...9-guardian.jpgThe Trigger Guardian The trigger guardian will insist that their finger is “off the trigger.” Technically it is. But when the finger is placed in that position, it’s extremely easy for the finger to get to the trigger, should the shooter be startled or bumped. Some argue that it’s tactically important to have the finger that extra quarter-inch closer to the trigger, resting on the trigger guard and not on the slide, because they believe that it makes them faster to the first shot.Nowhere in the shooting world does speed matter more than at the IPSC Grand Master level, where multi-day matches are sometimes decided by fractions of a second. If that marginal change in trigger finger position made a measurable difference in speed, one would expect that the top shooters would use that technique. They don’t, and I state that as a Master class shooter who has taken courses from, practiced with, and RO’d top level shooters. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...lm-shooter.jpgThe Palm Shooter The disassembly procedure for a Glock handgun requires that two levers be pressed down, one on each side of the frame, and the trigger pulled to release the slide. Unfortunately, one technique that many shooters adopt for this procedure places the muzzle pointed into his palm. There are multiple firsthand accounts documented online (including photos of the resulting injury) of shooters putting holes in their hands as a result of failing to remove the round in the chamber before pulling the trigger. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...rel-looker.jpgThe Barrel Looker This usually occurs after a malfunction has occurred, and the shooter is trying to determine whether the barrel is blocked or the chamber is fouled. Unfortunately, this method requires the shooter to point the gun in an unsafe direction. Safe alternatives include removing the barrel from the slide before inspection or using a Bore Snake or cleaning rod through the barrel. http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...ammo-saver.jpgThe Ammo Saver This usually occurs while unloading a semi-automatic pistol. After the magazine is removed and the slide is racked, the ammo saver stops paying attention to muzzle direction and becomes obsessed with the ejected live round. Often, this results in the muzzle pointing at the shooter’s feet or pointing up range. To correct this unsafe behavior, the shooter should ignore the ejected round and instead complete the unloading process by checking the chamber to ensure that it’s empty, and then holstering the pistol or setting it down, muzzle in a safe direction, before bending over to pick up the ejected round.
Tune Up Your Gun Handling : Personal Liberty Alerts=
http://www.naturalnews.com/gallery/d...ast-Cancer.jpg New study: Radiation treatments create cancer cells 30 times more potent than regular cancer cells
Monday, March 19, 2012 by: Tony Isaacs
(NaturalNews) In a groundbreaking new study just published in the peer reviewed journal Stem Cells, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Department of Oncology found that, despite killing half of all tumor cells per treatment, radiation treatments on breast cancer transforms other cancer cells into cancer stem cells which are vastly more treatment-resistant than normal cancer cells. The new study is yet another blow to the failed and favored mainstream treatment paradigm of trying to cut out, poison out or burn out cancer symptoms (tumors) instead of actually curing cancer.
Senior study author Dr. Frank Pajonk, associate professor of radiation oncology at the Jonsson Center, reported that induced breast cancer stem cells (iBCSC) "were generated by radiation-induced activation of the same cellular pathways used to reprogram normal cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in regenerative medicine." Pjonk, who is also a scientist with the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine at UCLA, added "It was remarkable that these breast cancers used the same reprogramming pathways to fight back against the radiation treatment."
In the new study, Pajonk and his team irradiated normal non-stem cell cancer cells and placed them into mice. Through a unique imaging system, the researchers observed the cells differentiate into iBCSC in response to radiation treatments. Pjonk reported that the newly generated cells were remarkably similar to non-irradiated breast cancer stem cells. The team of researchers also found that the radiation-induced stem cells had a more than 30-fold increased ability to form tumors compared with non-irradiated breast cancer cells.
Despite mounting evidence, mainstream medicine clings to surgery, chemo and radiation and ignores natural solutions
Despite all the billions of dollars spent on cancer, the 40 year "war on cancer" has been a losing one by any honest evaluation. One hundred years ago, anywhere from 1 in 50 to perhaps 1 in 100 people could be expected to develop cancer. Now it is estimated that 1 in every 2 men and 1 in every 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Despite more people around the world developing cancer and dying from cancer every year, mainstream medicine continues to cling to failed treatments which more often than not fail to eliminate the cancer and help cancer spread and return more aggressively than ever. Notably, two of the three major mainstream cancer treatments - radiation and chemo - are themselves highly carcinogenic.
One might think that the new study provided ample reasons to rethink using radiation. However, the study authors looked at the results as an opportunity to continue and enhance the use of radiation by finding ways to control the cell differentiation. What the scientists failed to note is that natural alternatives have already been found which prevent the development of cancer stem cells.
As just one example, Natural News reported in May 2010 that a University of Michigan study had found a compound in broccoli and broccoli sprouts which had the ability to target cancer stem cells. See:
Breast cancer breakthrough: broccoli component zaps cells that fuel tumor growth
The researchers failed to note how cancer cells fought against unnatural treatments. They also failed to take into account the mounting evidence that the best way to beat cancer as well as avoid it is to build and enhance our natural first line of defense - our immune system.
The safest and most effective way to enhance the natural immune system and fight cancer in general is by working with nature. It is also by far the least expensive way, and therein likely lies the rub. You can't patent and profit from nature like you can with mainstream drugs and treatments.
Note: Neither NaturalNews nor this author condone the inhumane use of animals in medical studies.
Other sources included:
www.cancer.ucla.edu/Index.aspx?page=644
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213185115.htm
www.naturalnews.com/cancer_cells.html
www.naturalnews.com/stem_cells.html
About the author:
Tony Isaacs, is a natural health author, advocate and researcher who hosts The Best Years in Life website for those who wish to avoid prescription drugs and mainstream managed illness and live longer, healthier and happier lives naturally. Mr. Isaacs is the author of books and articles about natural health, longevity and beating cancer including "Cancer's Natural Enemy" and is working on a major book project due to be published later this year. He is also a contributing author for the worldwide advocacy group "S.A N.E.Vax. Inc" which endeavors to uncover the truth about HPV vaccine dangers.
Mr. Isaacs is currently residing in scenic East Texas and frequently commutes to the even more scenic Texas hill country near Austin and San Antonio to give lectures and health seminars. He also hosts the CureZone "Ask Tony Isaacs - featuring Luella May" forum as well as the Yahoo Health Group "Oleander Soup" and he serves as a consultant to the "Utopia Silver Supplement Company".
New study: Radiation treatments create cancer cells 30 times more potent than regular cancer cells
Have You Considered Re-Loading Your Ammo?
by Administrator on March 21, 2012
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There are two types of single-stage presses, “C” (left) and “O” (right). The “C” has more space to work in while the “O” is much stronger. Both of these are Lee presses, and the Lee philosophy is that most steel reloading presses are made for several times the load you rely on them for. Their presses are made of lighter and less expensive materials, and most people have no problems with them at all.
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This is a Lyman T-Mag turret press. Redding and RCBS also make turret models, which still require a separate pull for every stage of the reloading process. For rifle cases that have to be trimmed, progressive presses aren’t practical and there is little disadvantage to a turret press, but if you are going to re-load a lot of straight wall handgun brass, you should go progressive if you are not going to start with a single stage. The Hornady Lock & Load single stage has little disadvantage to turret presses because the dies can be twisted in and out and left adjusted correctly.
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A shellholder is the part that actually holds the case in a press that has a single-station ram.
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Progressive presses are the most expensive, complicated, and tedious type of press to get up and running, but once you do, you can turn out hundreds of finished cartridges per hour. This is a Dillon 650, probably the most advanced presses on the market, and most of its bells and whistles are attached to the tune of hundreds of extra dollars over the base price of the press kit.
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A shellplate is different from a shellholder. A shellplate holds many cases at once so several different die stations can be used at the same time. A shell holder holds only one case.
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Your primary source for handloading information should be one of the thorough manuals from a major handloading component or equipment manufacturer. Also get secondary data sources so you have more data choices, and can confirm the range of data for given components.
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Handloading manuals will show you everything you need to know about case length, case type, primer size, and usually have historical or performance information on the cartridges listed.
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Data is clearly spelled out in manuals. It shows you what kind of powder to use with which bullets, how much powder, and how long the finished cartridge should be (Cartridge Overall Length, or COL).
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Dies are generally sold in “sets” with all of the dies necessary to handload a given cartridge. How many dies in a set depends on the cartridge. This is a two die rifle set from Hornady and it has the shell holder there in the case with the dies.
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Sizing dies also incorporate a decapping pin the punches out the spent primer. Depending on the cartridge, the decapping pin may also have an expander ball to size the inside of the neck. If you remove your primers in advance and use a priming tool before reloading, this pin can usually be unscrewed.
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You’ll need a neck brush to clean and lube inside case necks. For a neck brush, you can simply use bore brushes. The author finds that the nylon ones are cheap, effective, and last almost forever.
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If using a spray lube, spray the cases from an overhead angle to get a little lube inside the necks. Use only spray lube specifically made for case sizing. This is Hornady One Shot which works fabulously.
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Loading blocks hold the cartridge cases while you work on them. Having two blocks facilitates batch processing when using a single-stage press.
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Whether you choose a balance beam-type or an electronic scale, it’s a good idea to have a reference weight to check the accuracy of the scale periodically. Most of the electronic scales made for reloading have at least one test weight. Most beginner kits, except notably the Hornady, come with a balance beam.
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This is the scale that comes with the Hornady Lock and Load kit. The Hornady single stage also has a unique die swapping lock feature. It is probably the best of the kits.
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Volumetric powder measures produce ammunition that is every bit as accurate as loads with carefully weighed out powder charges, and are a heck of a lot faster. This is also the Hornady one. It comes with a plate to mount to your bench and it also screws into a die station.
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If you don’t load many cartridges, you can easily manage your case trimming needs using a simple trimmer tool with case length gauge. There are also lathe-like trimmers that are electric powered, and now there are even trim dies that have a grinder built right into the die.
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After trimming, you have to chamfer and deburr the mouth of the case. Don’t sharpen the mouth to a knife-edge; just “kiss” it with the tool enough to take off the burrs.
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Cases that have been loaded too many times, or that have been fired in guns with excessive headspace can experience incipient head separation indicated by a bright ring around the head of the case (left). Get rid of those cases or you may experience head separation (right) while shooting, which can be very dangerous.
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A caliper is a must-have so you can load cartridges to the specified overall length and so you can keep track of case length.
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Die sets for straight-wall cases include a die with a neck expander. Expand the necks just enough to let the bullet ease into the mouth. At left is a case that is sized, at center is a case that is sized and properly expanded at the mouth, at right the case is expanded too much at the mouth and will have problems later on.
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If you work case mouths too much, the brass will get brittle and can split (arrow). Splits may not happen when you seat the bullet; they may happen later while the loaded ammunition is in storage. You can prevent this by annealing cases, which we’ll get to hopefully.
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A primer tray is more than just a tray; it’s a functional tool that turns primers all over to the same side.
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Anvils on new primers stick up just a little higher than the primer cup. Properly seating primers will push the legs of the anvil level with the inside lip of the primer cup.
By Scott Mayer
As ammo has gotten more and more expensive over the past few years, a lot of people have begun to consider re-loading, and well they should. Because when you buy loaded ammunition, part of what you are paying for is the bullet you shoot downrange and the powder and primer that burn, and part of that cost is also the brass case. Re-loading, or for the purpose of discussion here, “handloading,” allows you to reuse that brass case for more loaded rounds, thereby saving you money on re-buying the brass. Not all cases are brass of course. These days some cases are aluminum or steel, and these generally cannot be reloaded (That is why steel and brass cased ammo is cheaper). But almost all brass ammunition is capable of being re-loaded, and when you get right down to it, brass ammo was created to reload. Leaving brass on the ground is just plain old wasting, and these days who can afford that?
The mechanics of handloading are very simple. A cartridge has a primer at its rear, powder in the middle, and a bullet at the front. When you fire the cartridge, the primer goes off, the powder burns up, and the bullet chugs its way out of the muzzle. Handloading amounts to nothing more than putting in a new primer, new powder and a new bullet, into the fired brass case.
There are some really good beginner reloading kits on the market. The brands you should search for are Hornady, Lyman, RCBS and Redding on the high end, and Lee is generally going to be the least expensive. Before you rush out and buy one, however, understanding some of the tools and what choices you have might be a better way to start. Sometimes you buy a beginner kit then replace all of the stuff in it within a short time as you discover how more advanced tools are more convenient and more precise. A little bit of overview will help you wade through what you should expect to buy, and some of the options.
The Press
The most important thing you will have to decide is what type of reloading press you want to start with. Lee even has a no-press option called a Lee Loader, and it works, but veerryyy slowly, and most likely you will want a “single stage” reloading press at the very least.
A single stage press holds one “die,” which is the tool that you force the brass shell into in order to make it shootable again. Handloading most often involves three dies, but can be two, three, four, or even five of these dies to make the loaded shell. On a single stage press, you have to insert and adjust the die, then process one “stage” of your ammo, then take out that die, put in the next die, do a round of the same shells with that die, then do the next one, and in between there you drop the powder in and position a new bullet.
Most people start with a single stage press because it is the simplest, and down the road, as you get into more precision handloading with long range rifle rounds, many would argue that a single stage press is the most consistent, but if you are making a lot of handgun rounds, a single stage press may not be your best option. If reloading was something you could do casually while you catch up your DVR watching, spending 3 hours on 500 rounds of 9mm would be fine, but it isn’t. If you don’t want to double charge gun powder and make a bunch of mistakes, you have to focus on what you are doing while you handload, and quicker is usually better.
The next step up from single stage is what is called the “Turret” press. It has four or five die stations built into it so you can build a lot of ammo without having to swap out dies. Lyman, RCBS and Redding all make manually indexing turret presses, and Lee makes a unique turret press that has a rotating tool head, so you pull the handle one, two, three, four (including powder) times, and the press indexes the dies for you. This may sound like a no brainer with the Lee, but some people prefer the sturdiness of the big heavy options, especially when building precision long range rifle ammo.
The next step up is the “progressive” press. Generally they don’t make a beginner kit with progressive presses. You have to buy the other stuff, covered below, separately. This can be a good thing. For example, the RCBS single stage kit comes with a balance beam scale. Today this is nothing short of a doorstop and a complete waste of money. The single stage Hornady kit comes with a proper high quality electronic scale, but not the nicest one Hornady makes. Options are what makes handloading fun, not just about saving money.
With a progressive press, every pull of the handle produces a new loaded round. The press has a “shell plate” that revolves under the die and powder stations, and all the stations get filled as the plate turns itself through the loading process. Progressive presses are more money than single stage and turret presses, but the time savings can pay you back in droves.
Hornady, Dillon and RCBS are the biggest names in progressive presses, and once you start looking into the technology you will see that they are quite elaborate. The basic press requires you to feed a case and bullet by hand for every pull, but all three companies make a bullet and case feeder attachment that will do even that for you.
Lee, again, is a much less expensive option in a progressive press, but if you plan to be a handloading snob don’t bother. Lee uses aluminum and some plastic in place of steel on their press designs, and though all the Lee stuff works great, many hardcore handloaders opt for the more expensive brands. Eventually we’ll get to some actual overviews of some of these presses, but for now just Google around and you’ll find plenty to help you make an informed purchasing decision.
Why Handload?
Before moving on to the rest of the stuff you’ll need, any conversion about handloading should include a little history of what is correctly called, “precision, ” as opposed to “accuracy.” When you handload, most of the time you will end up with more precise ammunition, loaded round compared to loaded round compared to loaded round. Commercial ammunition is manufactured on automated equipment flying at thousands of rounds per hour. When you slow down and do it by hand, one at a time, or even on a progressive press at one per pull, you are generally going to produce more consistent and precise ammunition than can the factory.
As we have discussed here before, Hornady ammo has definitely pioneered genuinely precise and consistent factory ammo. Some of the testing we have done with our resident US Army Sniper Ben Becker has been truly amazing. But you will note that Hornady makes not only some of the most advanced handloading equipment, they are also the largest producer of packed bullets for handloading, and they have worked with Hodgdon Powder to bring even their exclusive “Superformance” and “LeverEvolution” brands to the handloader. Even Hornady, the pioneer in precise factory ammo, recognizes that handloading is an enormous asset to shooting sports, and if anyone knows the difference, they do.
Can you save money? Yes, you actually can. If you take just simple 9mm rounds, a box of the cheapest factory ammo you can find is amost $20 per 50 rounds these days. In comparison to handloading, assuming you have the spent brass cartridges, a box of 500 Hornady 124 grain bullets on Midsouth is $53. One thousand (1000!) primers are under $30, and a pound of Hodgdon Titegroup, enough for approximately 1500 rounds, is $15. Conservatively that is under $150 per thousand. I was unable to find 9mm even in bulk surplus crates at under $250 per thousand delivered. You definitely will save money.
Should you handload? Safety is a big deal. If you can exercise common sense and follow directions, then yes, please keep reading. If you have attention issues or think that it is ok to “half way” the safety issues of reloading, let me tell you right now that there is a whole world of difference, and a ton of hurt, between 2.7 grains and 7.2 grains of Bullseye, and both measurements fit in a .45ACP case. This is not something you want to experience. You will need to be extra careful when handloading. If you’re someone who thinks a maximum recommended load is merely a suggestion or think loading manuals have “lawyered down” data, please don’t handload.
A Brief Laundry List of Stuff You NeedA Never Ending Quest
- A manual with data – Handloading manuals are not like manuals that come with, for example, computers. Instead, handloading manuals really do have good instructions. Often they have whole chapters devoted to tools and how to set them up, cartridge components and their differences, and every step to handloading. The data sections of manuals contain the recipes you’ll follow to handload safely. Usually the data tells you everything–what brand case, what brand and size primer, what brand and type of bullet, how much of the right powder to use, and how long to make the finished cartridge. All you have to do is follow the recipe and put the parts together.
- A secondary data source – In 30 years of handloading I think I’ve seen only one typo in printed data published by a manufacturer. Errors are more common in magazines and online, but a secondary data source isn’t necessarily so much for double-checking as it is for knowing more about the data range for a combination of components. They can’t put every powder in the book, and you may have a powder you bought for another caliber that could be used for the one you want to load next, but for which there is no data in the manual. I often find that given the same combination of components, the loads in one manual are different from the loads in another manual. Data varies because even “identical” components vary and it’s all but impossible for different ballistic labs to all use the exact same lot of every component when developing data. For example, one lot of a bullet you want to use may be slightly harder than the next, so the ballistic results may differ. In all instances, I err on the side of caution and between my primary and secondary data sources consider the more conservative maximum load as my maximum. The Hodgdon website has a data generator for all of the Hodgdon, IMR and Winchester powders.
- Shellholders/shellplates – Shellholders and shellplates are the parts that hold the cartridge cases in the press. If your press has a single station ram, as on a single-stage press, then you need a shellholder that holds one case. On a progressive, you need a shellplate that holds a case at each station. Both holders and plates come sized for different case rims, and since many cartridges share the same rim dimensions, a single holder or plate works for many calibers. For example, a holder or plate made for the .30-’06 also works for the .308 Win., and any other case made off of those such as the .25-’06 or 7mm-08. It also works for the .45 ACP, a host of Mauser cartridges, and more.
- Dies – Dies are generally sold as a “set” for a given caliber, and the number of dies in a set depends on the cartridge. Bottleneck rifle cases are reloaded with as few as two dies—one that resizes the case and one that seats the bullet. Die sets for straight-walled cases typically consist of a sizing die, neck-expanding die, bullet-seating die, and sometimes a crimping die. There are other specialty dies including ones that lubricate, universally deprime, or are used for trimming, but if you’re a beginning handloader stick with a basic 2- 3- or 4-die set, and follow the set up instructions that come with the dies. All of the manufacturers mentioned previously use a standardized thread design, so dies are interchangeable between different makes of presses (except for some old Dillons). We will get to some specialty types of dies from Redding, Lyman, Hornady and RCBS as we go down the road with this series, but to start all you need is the basic caliber specific set. and FYI the Lee sets also come with the shellholder. All die sets for a given caliber will have generally the same function in the dies, except Lee that works an optional powder station into their expander dies.
These are the basic function of the dies:
- Sizing dies return fired cases to near-factory dimensions. When you fire a cartridge, the brass case expands to seal the chamber. There is some spring-back once the pressure inside the chamber drops, but the case never goes back to the original dimensions. The expanded case might not fit the chamber of a different gun, might not feed reliably in any gun, and probably won’t grip a new bullet tightly in the neck, so you have to resize it. There are advanced sizing options such as neck sizing, but for now, follow the directions that come with your die to set it up to full-length resize. Full-length sizing returns the entire case to near-factory dimensions. If you load straight-walled cases, such as 9mm, it’s worth the extra few bucks to get carbide or nitride dies. Those dies are inherently “slick” inside so you won’t have to lubricate your cases when you size them (more on that later). Sizing dies usually also have a decapping pin that pushes out the spent primer and, depending on the cartridge you’re loading, the decapping pin may incorporate an expander ball that changes the dimension of the case neck from the inside so it properly grips a new bullet.
- Neck-expanding dies are used on straight-walled cases to open the case mouth slightly to help it receive the new bullet without crumpling the case when you seat the bullet. You want to set these dies so that they bell the mouth just enough to easily start a bullet. If you bell the mouth too much, you might have trouble getting the case to go into the bullet-seating die, and you’ll unnecessarily work the case mouth. Brass work-hardens, meaning the more you bend it the more brittle it becomes. If you over-work the case mouth, the case can split. I’ve even seen over-worked but loaded cases split while in storage.
- As its name implies, the bullet-seating die seats the bullet. Inside the die is a stem that you thread in or out to adjust how deeply a bullet seats. Bullet seating depth is something you can experiment with as an advanced handloader, but for now, seat bullets so that the finished cartridge is the overall length specified in the loading data you’re using, or so the case mouth is just below the top of the bullet’s crimping groove or cannelure if it has one. Don’t go deeper as that can cause increased chamber pressure and depending on the cartridge, could increase pressure to dangerous levels. By seating to just below the top of the crimping groove, the crimp rolls neatly into the groove. Many seating dies are also adjustable to put a little roll crimp on the case mouth. The instructions that come with your die will say whether or not it has that feature and how to adjust it. Light-recoiling cartridges fired in bolt-action rifles generally don’t need much, if any, crimp because there’s nothing to push the bullet deeper into the case, and recoil isn’t heavy enough to pull bullets out or smash them against the inside of the magazine. Cartridges destined for tubular magazines need crimps so the magazine spring doesn’t push the bullets deeper into the cases. Revolver loads need crimps so the bullets don’t telescope out of their cases under recoil. Auto pistol cartridges should be crimped, preferably with a taper crimp. By design, many auto pistol cartridges are supposed to headspace via the case mouth against the front of the chamber and a taper crimp makes that more positive. As a practical matter, though, these auto pistol cartridges are more likely headspacing on the rim against the extractor so the crimp wouldn’t matter. Regardless, for whatever reason I’ve found that taper crimped cases cycle more reliably through semi-autos than rolled crimped. Don’t ask me why.
- Case neck brush – I overlooked this tool for many years, and then I got a decapping pin with expander ball stuck in a .30-’06 case. A case neck brush loosens any burnt on carbon from inside the case neck, and if you put a little case lube on the brush, it makes it easier for the expander ball to pass through the neck of the case. It’s amazing how big a difference this little step makes on the effort it takes to operate your press. You can buy a special brush to use inside of case necks, but I use a nylon bore brush of the same caliber as the case.
- Case lubricant – Unless you’re using a carbide or nitride die for straight-walled cases, you need to lubricate cases for the sizing operation. If you don’t, you put added wear and tear on your die and press, and you will get a case stuck in the die. Then, when you put a little extra muscle behind the press handle to try and get the stuck case out, you’ll tear the rim off of the case and then it will be really stuck in the die. For basic handloading, all of the case lubes on the market will work equally well differing mainly in how they’re applied. The most common applicator is a case lube pad. You basically wet the pad with lubricant, and roll your cases across the pad just before sizing. A drawback to using a pad is that it’s easy to get too much lube on a case and when you run it into the sizing die, the lube hydraulically presses a dent into the case. Pads are also messy; your hands get covered in lube and the pad gets dirty from carbon and tumbling media. Some handloaders dispense with the pad and simply use their bare hand to apply the case lube. That’s fine if you’re batch processing on a single-stage press, but things get messy if you’re using a turret or progressive press and need to turn the turret head or add powder manually to the case. More recently spray lubes have come on the market and, pardon the pun, they’re pretty slick. I think the best way to apply spray is to stand your cases in a loading block and spray at a downward angle from two corners of the block. All of the cases get a light coating, and you’ll also get a little lube into the case necks for your expander ball. If you go the spray route, just be sure to use spray lube specifically for handloading and not something like WD-40. Sprays for handloading evaporate away and leave nothing behind that can contaminate the powder.
- Primer tray – Yes, it’s a tray to hold the primers—but it’s actually a functional tool. Primer trays have ridges on the inside of one side. You dump your primers onto the ridges, shake the tray gently, and the primers all jump over anvil side up. Depending on how your priming tool is loaded, you’ll either need all of your primers anvil side up, or cup side up. If you need them cup side up, simply put the lid on the primer tray and flip it over.
- Powder scale – When you look at your handloading data, it will indicate how many grains (not grams) of powder to use. Weighing a powder charge on a scale is the only way to insure you’re putting the right amount of powder in a case. We used to have to use balance beam scales and they worked, but it was and sometimes frustrating process. These days we have electronic and for the most part they work well. Electronic scales are like anything else electronic—sometimes they have a mind of their own—and there are reports of static electricity causing reading errors. Most scales come with reference weights, or you can simply take a bullet, weigh it, record the weight, and keep THAT bullet as a reference. It won’t be as accurate as true reference weights, but will keep you from weighing out grossly off charges.
- Adjustable powder measure or scoops, and a funnel – A powder measure “scoops” a consistent volume of powder from a powder reservoir and dumps it in your case. Some come with inserts for different size case mouths and some require you to use a plastic funnel. Lee sells scoops for powder and many of their die sets come with a scoop that is designed for that cartridge and a given type of powder. Other than the Lee system (their progressive press has a similar volumetric system), you will use your scale to figure out where to set your powder measure so that it drops the correct charge. Precision handloading will benefit from something called a powder trickler, to get it right to the perfect tenth of a gram, but for most bulk reloading tasks a regular adjustable powder measure and electronic scale are all you need. Make sure to tighten up the lock collars on the measure so it stays adjusted for your charge, and every 5th or so charge you should throw one into the scale pan to check, just to make sure. You can never be too careful with making sure your charge is correct. And watch the volume of powder in the measure. It can go dry or close to dry and give you empty cases or part full cases, and these “poof” rounds can be as dangerous or more dangerous than overcharges. These days there are automatic powder drops from Hornady and others that measure the charge and weigh it as the same time. They are of course more expensive, but they work great and make your bench look really professional as well.
- Loading blocks Loading blocks are simply trays with either square or circular recesses in which you stand up cartridge cases while you’re working on them. You can get by with one block, but I think you’re better off having two—especially if you’re batch processing. By using two, you can have one on each side of the tool you’re using and as you process your batch, you move the cases from one block to the other. It’s a particularly effective method to avoiding double-charging a case. If you are using a Lee turret press or any progressive press you don’t need these, but most beginner kits will come with them.
- Caliper – There are lots of important measurements in handloading and you will need a caliper that measures to 0.001-inch. Maybe it’s my positively electric personality, but electronic tools frequently frap out on me, so I go with a dial caliper over an electronic one. I have a friend who swears by his electronic caliper, so who knows. Measurements you’ll need to take include the overall length of the finished cartridge, which is listed in your loading data. You’ll also want to keep track of the length of your cartridge cases so you know when and how much to trim them.
- Case trimmer – This only applies to bottleneck rifle cases, and bottleneck pistol cases like the .357 Sig and 44-40. Shooting and then re-sizing cartridge cases causes the brass to “flow,” and they get longer. Case length needs to be kept in check, because eventually they don’t fit into your chamber anymore. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute publishes specifications on cartridge case and gun chamber dimensions with tolerances that ensure cartridges and guns from different manufacturers are safe and compatible. Your handloading manual will have case length information in the data section that includes the maximum case length and the trim-to length. You may or may not have to trim each time you reload a case–it all depends on how much your case stretches during firing and sizing—but you do have to trim when cases reach the maximum length or if you’re using a load that calls for a crimp. As an aside, if you’re loading a cartridge that needs a crimp, then cases with slightly different lengths results in cartridges with more or less crimp, depending on the length of the case. That may cost you in accuracy, but I’d be more concerned about inconsistent crimps simply failing and causing a bullet to be pushed down into the case (which can increase pressure to dangerous levels), or cause bullets to telescope out (which can cause a revolver cylinder to lock up). Another important consideration about case length is that if the case is too long, when you chamber the cartridge the mouth of the case may enter the throat of the chamber. When that happens, the case mouth can’t expand properly to release the bullet and you’ll get high pressure.
There are several types of trimmers on the market. The simplest is the hand crank kind that will be in most beginner case prep kits. It has a clamp to hold the fired case and a set of collets to guide a rotating cutter that trims the end. There are electric versions of the same thing basically, and now there are even trimmer dies that file the top of the case when you raise it up into the die station.
Regardless of which type of trimmer you use, five trims is about the limit you should consider before you throw the case away. By the fifth trimming, the case has likely stretched so much near the head that its integrity is questionable and you could start having cartridge case failures when you shoot. Regardless of the number of trimmings, if you notice a visible “ring” at the case head, smash the case and throw it away. That’s a sign of incipient separation. It indicates that your cases are already stretched too thin. The reason for smashing the necks is so that later on if you’re feeling really cheap, you won’t be able to use those cases again.- Deburring tool – Freshly trimmed cases have very square, sharp mouths with little “burrs” of metal inside and out. If left like that, they can shave the sides of bullets as you seat them, and I’ve even had the little burrs stab into my hands. You remove those burrs with a deburring tool, which is a little suppository-looking thing with cutters on both ends. One end is pointed so the cutters go into the mouth of the case and on the other end the cutters are like little “fingers” that take care of the outside of the mouth. When you use a deburrer, you use it just enough to smooth things out; you don’t want to thin the mouth down to a knife-edge. Usually you can use a deburring tool immediately after trimming without even removing the case from the trimmer. Most beginner kits will have a hand deburring tool, and Hornady and others make electric ones. Hornady now even makes a complete case prep station we will be reviewing here soon that trims deburs and polishes for you. It is a great time to be a handloader.
- Vibratory or Ultrasonic Cleaner – Dull and stained brass is perfectly safe to reload, but after a couple firings you will notice that it has collected a considerable amount of burnt powder deposits on the inside. Most people invest in some kind of case cleaning system when they reload regularly. There are two types, vibratory and ultrasonic. A vibratory tumbler has a big bin on the top of it that you fill with some sort of media, usually made from either ground corncobs or walnuts. You can leave hundreds of rounds of pistol brass in the tumbler overnight and in the morning it will be bright and shiny, outside, and even mostly inside. If you de-prime before you tumble, even the primer pocket will lose some of its carbon deposits. An ultrasonic tumbler works with water and some kind of solution that you add to the water, a subtle acid usually. They are quicker, in the several minutes range quick, but they leave you with wet brass that needs to dry. It is thought that if you de-prime before you use an ultrasonic tumbler, it will remove more carbon from the primer pocket than a vibratory will, but we are still in the middle of in-house testing on that, so stay tuned. Ultimately the choice is up to you. Millions of handloaders have used vibratory tumblers for decades, but the rage is all about ultrasonic these days. Nike vs. Reebok.
- Priming tool – Clearly, since you’re removing the spent primers with the sizing die, you have to replace them with new primers, but I’m calling a dedicated priming tool optional. Progressive presses prime as an operation and most single-stage and turret presses these days have priming capabilities and with practice you’ll develop the “feel” for seating a primer perfectly. On some press-mounted priming systems you’ll have to manually place each primer on the primer ram, but many presses also have a tube or tray feeder so you never have to handle a primer. I’ve read that oil from your fingers can contaminate primers, but I think that’s stretching things a bit. The one thing I will note about using your press to seat primers is realize you have a lot of leverage and it’s easy to overdo it when seating a primer. There’s a little anvil inside of each primer and the gun’s firing pin smashes the priming pellet between that anvil and the primer cup to get it to go off. If you look at a new primer, you’ll see that the legs of the anvil sit just above the edge of the primer cup. A properly seated primer will be just deep enough to push the legs of the anvil down even with the inside edge of the primer cup. Seat a primer too deeply, and you risk over sensitizing the pellet, possibly cracking the pellet, which can cause misfires, or setting the primer off in your press, which is always a lively occurrence. If you don’t seat the primer deep enough, the strike of the firing pin can actually seat the primer instead of set it off and you’ll get a misfire. Never seat primers high; if you do, you risk at worst a slam-fire as you’re chambering the round before the bolt is locked.
The advantage of a dedicated priming tool is that you can de-prime your cases sitting around watching Idol on Wednesday night (Lee makes a hand press and Lyman makes a universal de-capping die), then clean your cases with no primers so the pockets get clean overnight, then use the priming tool for Idol on Thursday night. By the weekend you’ll be ready to reload (which you can ‘t do watching TV) and you have removed the trickiest part of smooth progressive reloading, which is always re-priming the cases. You simply remove the de-priming pin from your sizing die and you are good to go.
In my experience, the above are the mostly must-have tools to start handloading. It’s not a bare minimalist list so you can kinda-sorta get handloading, but there’s nothing extravagant or superfluous listed either. If you really get into handloading, at some point you’ll start adding more tools that are “niceties” or just make handloading faster or easier. You don’t need things like cartridge case gauges, but they do make handloading faster and more satisfying when you can simply drop a loaded cartridge into one knowing that if it fits the gauge, it will fit your chamber. You don’t need a primer pocket cleaner, but with a clean primer pocket it’s sure easier to seat primers precisely when going for the best possible accuracy. There’s an almost endless list of other tools that are nice to have for handloading, but the ones above are the ones you simply pretty much can’t do without. As time goes on with this column we’ll go over some very specific handloading tools and how to use them.
Enthusiasts use the term handloading instead of re-loading because though most of us get started re-loading, to save money on shooting, it can quickly turn into a labor of love and learning. There are so many variables that effect long range rifle accuracy that it would take a book to cover them. Over the years, ingenuity has bred some interesting products to solve problems that are thought to cause a lack of precision in handloads, and one company especially, Redding Reloading, has dedicated their entire company to the needs of the thoughtful handloader. There is also Dillon that has take the progressive reloader concept and turned it into a thousand dollar plus commercial grade machine, for consumers. Handloading can end up costing you a lot more than you initially saved on ammo. What these days that is much if any fun isn’t expensive? Handloading is fun! Testing handloads is even funner, and there are a lot of side things, (like bullet casting we have already started to cover), that bring whole new aspects to this really great hobby.
Many people think that the era of the gun nerd and voracious handloader is over, or in the process of ending. This is anything but true. The previous generation is indeed aging out of the active reloading years, but it will only be a matter of time before all of these new shooters discover what the previous generation discovered decades ago. Few hobbies are as fun and rewarding as shooting sports, and handloading brings a rich dimension to shooting that you have to experience in order to understand. Stay tuned for more articles in this column on specific choices within all of these tools above. We have a lot of ground to cover, but don’t let that stop you from going out and buying a press and getting started. Most of us are self taught when it comes to handloading, and other than getting sloppy with unsafe practices, there isn’t a lot you can do wrong.
How to Get Started Reloading Ammunition
Could This Be the Ultimate SHTF Handgun?
Mac Slavo
March 22nd, 2012
SHTFplan.com
Comments (124)
Video: AF2011-A1 "Second Century" - Double barrel pistol - YouTube
This is eight double rounds [.45 ACP] with the Arsenal Firearms 2011 Second Century Double Barrel Pistol…in other words, it is 4000 grains of payload sent downrange in about 5 seconds. To achieve the same result with a single barrel 9mm pistol we would need to shoot about 30 rounds, with two changes of magazines, in about 30 seconds.
This is performance…
Photos:
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Via Arsenal Firearms:The AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol comes actually as the very first industrial double barrel semiautomatic pistol of all times. The original idea came about ten years back to Swiss armourer Vivian Mueller, who at the time experienced cutting and welding together multiple parts of the famous Sig P210: the result was a long slide, double barrel 9mm, highly decorated collector piece, which indeed shot very well.
Our idea took the challenge further: to commemorate the legendary Colt 1911-A1 in the Centenary by making a true industrial market-ready double barrel .45 caliber pistol. We achieved success in the brief span of 6 months, after intense and round-the-clock 3D designing, stereolithographic modeling and parts machining.
The gun can be handled by any shooter able to shoot with a .45 Acp and it is not only very pleasing, but very accurate and great fun. The AF2011-A1 holds amazing and surprising target performance for the shooter: in fact, it will group all the 8 double .45 caliber rounds (16 bullets) held in the duplex, single columns magazines, in a target of the size of an orange at 15 yards and of a water melon at 25.
The stopping power of the AF2011-A1 is tremendous: 2 bullets for a total of 460 Grains weight impacting at 1 to 2 inches apart (depending on the distance of the target) will knock down a bull, while the whole 18 bullets, for a payload exceeding 4000 Grains, can be delivered to the target in about 3 seconds.
Hat tip The Firearm Blog
Also See: The Annihilator 2000
Could This Be the Ultimate SHTF Handgun?
New Proto Type Texas Flashlight
FMG 9 : Not Just A Flashlight
Video: New Proto Type Texas Flashlight - handy to have to walk the dog or take care of any little problem that might come up
12 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Bug Out Bag: Series Post 5 of 12: Fire
March 14, 2012
By Creek
Series Introduction
This post series is for anyone who has an interest or curiosity in building their own Bug Out Bag. In the next 3-4 months leading up to the release of my book Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit, my publisher has authorized me to write a series of 12 posts outlining the 12 Supply Categories needed to build the perfect Bug Out Bag and WHY they are important and necessary.
Each post in this 12 Step Series will highlight a separate Bug Out Bag Supply Category.In my book I elaborate on each of these supply categories in great detail with 100s of detailed photos, instructions, practice exercises, recommended gear and specific supply check-lists.
The purpose of this 12 Step Series is to identify, define and explain why each of the 12 Supply Categories I outline in my book are critical elements of a well-thought out Bug Out Bag. I will not get into recommended gear, survival instruction or specific check-lists – I have to save something for the book! This blog series isn’t as much about pitching my book as it is about selling the idea of building a bug out bag. I truly believe that every person should have their own 72 hour disaster survival kit – especially in the uncertain times we live in today. You can almost look at this post series as 12 Reasons Why People Need a Bug Out Bag. It is my hope that this series motivates people to begin building their own kit that may very well serves as their survival life-line one day.
Supply Category # 5: FIRE
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This post is going to be short, sweet and to the point. I can’t say enough about the importance of Fire Starting Supplies in a Bug Out Bag. Fire is without a doubt in a survivor’s TOP 5 Survival Priorities.A Bug Out Bag without a GUARANTEED way to start a fire is incomplete.
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Why is FIRE so important to a survivor? First and foremost, fire is a tool that can be used to regulate your core body temperature and stave off hypothermia in cold weather environments. It can dry wet cloths and heat rocks for radiant heat while you sleep. It can provide light in dark conditions and can boost the morale of those who become emotionally exhausted. Fire can also boil and disinfect your #1 Life-Saving Resource – Water.
In addition, it can heat and cook your meals. Use can use fire to make tools, containers and harden spear tips. Furthermore, you can signal for rescue with fire.Countless survivors have been saved by their ability to start a fire. It’s their ability and knowledge that saved them – not the fire.
What is GUARANTEED FIRE?
Guaranteed Fire means that you have the tools and resources in your Bug Out Bag to start and build a fire in virtually any condition you can imagine – wet, cold, damp or windy. Your FIRE KIT should be comprised of 2 components: 1) An Ignition Device and 2)Fire Starting Tinder. I review a variety of ignition tools and fire tinders in my book that I would rely on in a Bug Out Scenario for GUARANTEED FIRE.
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Heat + Fuel + Oxygen
Just igniting your fire tinder doesn’t mean you’re ‘out of the woods’. Building a healthy self-sustaining fire requires experience and know-how. From the Fire Platform through several stages and sizes of kindling, preparation and planning are critical. Unfortunately, in many instances when you really NEED a fire, you typically NEED IT RIGHT NOW. Resist the temptation to rush through the important first stages of fire building.
CONCLUSION
Can your Bug Out Fire Kit pass the test?
Try starting a fire in ‘not-so-perfect’ conditions to see if you need to reevaluate your choices. As we enter into the famed year of 2012, I’d like to end this post with a quote from the opening chapter of my book: You’ve heard the phrase “If you build it, they will come.”
When discussing Bug Out Bags and disasters, my survivalist motto is “Build it, they are coming.”
Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,
Creek
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About Willow Haven Outdoor & Creek StewartCreek Stewart is the Owner and Lead Instructor at Willow Haven Outdoor - a leading Survival and Preparedness Training Facility located on 21-acres in Central Indiana. For more information on Survival Courses and Clinics offered at WHO, click HERE. Creek is also author of the new book Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Disaster Survival Kit. His book is currently available for preorder on AMAZON.COM for only $11.20 - LIMITED TIME ONLY. If you enjoy Creek's Blog Posts, you will also enjoy his new book. You can contact Creek directly at creek@willowhavenoutdoor.com
- 12 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Bug Out Bag: Series Post 3 of 12: Shelter and Bedding
- 12 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Bug Out Bag: Series Post 4 of 12: Clothing
- 12 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Bug Out Bag: Series Post 1 of 12: Water and Hydration
- 12 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Bug Out Bag: Series Post 2 of 12: Food and Food Preparation
- Bug Out Bag Preparedness Lessons from the BEAVER: Chip away at it!
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