I just bought a new cell phone battery.
Tiny, 10,000 amp and smaller than a deck of cards.

I was reviewing my inventory and discovered that my emergency food components of my kits have all recently expired. Considering that they live in vehicle trunks, I ordered fresh and threw the expired components out. They’re probably good for far longer in climate controlled environments.

I've been rummaging around in Chaosmagnet's trash at night looking for snacks.

In these uncertain times (said with a bit of sarcasm regarding TV commercials) I don't travel very much or very far. Last year my wife & I retired to a national forest in the Wisconsin Northwoods.

I'd posted that my wife absolutely surprised me with an orange Ritter Mk1. She knows I like Doug's knives, and this one is a real looker.

Lately we've been talking about getting a new personal locator beacon (the one we have has probably aged out) because up here it is all too common to have no cell phone signal, and getting stuck in winter can be life threatening.

I want to buy a handgun, but training/range facilities are mostly closed, and Chaosmagnet convinced me that without training I should wait. My 12g is fine for now.

Most of my time has been spent setting up for doing some garage-based woodworking. Nothing fancy. BUT, because of the virus and the fact that many people around here don't wear masks in public, I'm not buying lumber/plywood at this time. So I'm learning, planning, and doing what I can via online ordering. Luckily we got our four horse stalls built last fall - before the new virus. If you have any interest, I'll recommend the online courses at theweekendwoodworker dot com.

Stay safe.

Some shelf stable food stuff:
canned corned beef
canned bread (250g a can)
hard tack (the type the have in the German MRE)
NRG 5 rations

in the communication department:
a 40m minimal art kit (CW only) assembly required

for personal protection:
saftey glasses (had to replace a pair I gave to my nephew)
new armoured motorcycle boots (adventure or "Mad Max" style)

just for fun:
nonsterile sutures for training purposes

It's a decision that needs to be considered carefully. However, I think the odds of survival favor a guy with a gun and no training vs a guy with firearms training and no firearm! Training is important and a big asset but many untrained people have used handguns successfully for self defense. As Mark Moritz used to say the first rule of gunfighting is have a gun!

That said, as long as you know how to use the shotgun it's a fine home defense tool, probably better overall than a sidearm.

Mrs. Magnet and Middle Offspring definitely thought that I was Wrong for laughing so loud at that one.



Outstanding! Kudos to Mrs. K!



I know a firearms trainer in Cascade, WI if that’s close to you. He’s very good.

Handguns can be hard to find right now in the US for all the obvious reasons. I did very well (with trophies to prove it) with a variety S&W M&P handguns. Relatively recently I moved to the Sig P320 platform, and I’m very happy with that. However, what works for me might not work as well for you, so get trained and find something that works well for you. You should be focused on striker-fired, polymer-framed semiautomatic pistols in 9mm while you’re looking. Springfield’s XD series, S&W’s M&P series, Sig’s P320 series, Glocks are great starting points. A few years ago, most of the serious shooters I knew were using Glocks. Now, most of them are running Sig.



Agreed. Also, I’ve been doing FaceTime “this is how you don’t have a Negligent Discharge” training for new handgun owners virtually, and I’d be happy to do that for you without charge.

In the home, my sidearm's purpose is to help me fight my way to one of my "retreat rooms". Where I have more capable longarms, extra ammo, cover, concealment, communications, and very importantly - complete control over the single door entrance into the room. If a bad guy wants to chase me down that rabbit hole, they have a big surprise waiting at the end. It's pretty much a reverse ambush with overwhelming odds against them.

However, that particular defense plan is for a home invasion of only a handful attackers. Not a mob outside with Molotov cocktails and such. You'll have to be on the move to get out of a mob situation, and a handgun is better suited for that IMHO. Also, sometimes you may need to conceal your firearm and blend in to escape a mob scene, and a handgun definitely wins there.

Unfortunately, if you want a handgun but don't have one already, you're probably out of luck. If you manage to score one, your next obstacle would be finding ammo for it.

With all due respect to the instructors out there, you do not need someone with an official "instructor" title to teach you to be safe and effective with a firearm. Pretty much any experienced and conscientious firearm owner can train you up to a high level of competence and safety. Official instructors are nice, but they don't have any super secret knowledge that nobody else has. Pretty much, they are just experienced and conscientious firearms owners that filled in some paperwork and paid a fee to get a certificate. Again, nothing against instructors, they can do a very good job, but they are not magical creatures. You do want someone who will teach you hands on though. Googling and reading webpages is not sufficient.

I think you've got it exactly right! I'm kind of a gun nut but I certainly am not going to walk around outside clearing the structure! My plan is to stay behind a locked door with a cell phone on speaker and my shotgun or rifle trained on the door. Let any potential assailant come to me, not go looking for him or her.




I think it's exceedingly unlikely that I'll have to repel mobs armed with torches and pitchforks. Certain media personalities are trying to portray the nation as being under siege but in my experience that's a distortion at best and an outright fabrication at worse. There are some hotspots I am not in one, nor is my home likely to become an epicenter of violence. I am prepared as always to deal with whatever, though, as best as I can.

I've had a CCW permit for virtually my entire adult life. A handgun in an indispensable tool for me in my EDC! Certainly it can accompany me in places where a long gun wouldn't be practical.




Yeah, depending on where you live they're hard to find. Here in Bozeman you can still find a sidearm; it may not be your 1st choice with all the options you want but you can get something. Ammo though is pretty thin on the ground. Since this isn't my first (or second or third...) rodeo I'm pretty well stocked up on the stuff I use, namely 9mm, 5.56 NATO and 12ga 00 Buck and slugs for wilderness/bear defense.





That's spot on. It's pretty easy to learn the 4 Rules of Firearms safety and if you have any firearms experience it applies to any firearm. The manual of arms might be specific to each individual gun to a degree but distance learning will help as will safe and deliberate dry fire and manipulation. Go slow and be careful. Obviously I'm in favor of hands-on training but in an emergency setting you're better off being a little less ready than you'd like but still armed vs being unarmed.

Absolutely correct. There are plenty of firearms owners out there without formal training qualifications that can and do provide good training.

I've seen some awful instruction from both non-qualified firearms owners and from qualified instructors. I know of one certified instructor who ended up getting two of his students shot from unsafe practices, and ended up getting kicked out of the instructor program he was a part of.



Here I respectfully disagree. I'm not aware of any paperwork+fee programs to become certified instructors, generally there are some classes involved as well.

It seems to me like the best way to find out who is good and who isn't is to educate yourself the best you can on your own, find good (safe!) instructors, and see who they recommend.

I've been privileged to train with many well-respected and some famous instructors, and whenever I get the chance I ask them who else I should train with. Good instructors will recommend other good instructors, rather than tell you that you have to train with them exclusively.

My wording was not very good there. My comment was based on an acquaintance that said "You fill out a little paperwork on yourself and learn how to fill out paperwork on students, and that's about it." That somewhat flippant comment may not actually reflect reality, and may have been half in jest, but I took it to be an accurate description. The question was asked and answered during my CCW class many years ago.

The class was really very good - at the range (outdoor) were were trained and fired on moving targets. They have a pretty cool apparatus of human shaped targets on wheels that they pulled around erratically for you to try and engage. And they had safety officers back with us students making sure we didn't get out of hand swinging our line of fire left and right ... something that you seldom get to do at a range. I had been shooting for decades before that, but had not gotten much experience shooting at moving targets. Mind you, this was not a required part of the CCW class - it was an extra, optional, paid addition.

That addition to the main class was certainly fun, and good practice. But it really wasn't teaching us new information. Just letting us practice. I guess I did learn one thing though - it's a lot harder to hit a fast moving target with a little snub nosed .38 than hitting a stationary target. I did not find that to be as much of a problem with a larger size semi though. Probably because I don't shoot a snubby revolver very often. They're actually quite snappy little buggers, especially with +P. But I was testing it against other firearms to decide which would be the best for CCW.

An extended battery cell phone case and a Radiooddity DB25 dual band (2m & 70cm) shortwave transceiver. I'll try to write up a review of the transceiver once I finish programming it and installing it in my vehicle.
-Blast

So, as I have been introducing a number of former non-owners to firearms of late, this is my perspective.

1. I agree that having a firearm is better than not. Learning how to handle it safely is key, but there are any number of ways to accomplish that, including innumerable videos online from many sources including NSSF and NRA.

2. There is a huge advantage to one-on-one instruction in safe gun handling. Even better at a range. I agree that any conscientious and responsible gun owner should be able to teach that. Having said that, not all firearm owners are conscientious and responsible. I have seen too many sorry examples of unsafe gun handling to believe that just any gun owner can teach safe gun handling. Just saying...

3. There is a HUGE difference between quality instructors and those who think they are God's gift to firearms instruction and actually suck. Teaching is a skill that not every "instructor" has. As but one example, I have one friend who can diagnose your shooting issue in seconds and fix it. I have seen terrible instructors be unable to sort out a shooter's obvious to even me problem(s) because they are just poor instructors without the skills and experience. And the number I have seen who obviously spend too much time watching Hollywood fiction I can't even count. All instructors are not created equal and way too many aren't very good at all. No difference than in any field of instruction.

4. There is an ever HUGER difference between learning how to shoot safely and even accurately, and learning how to deal with a real live self-defense situation. The difference between shooting and gun-fighting is an order of magnitude. But, everyone needs to start with the basics of safe and accurate shooting before you move to the next level.

Thanks for the input everyone!!



Sadly Cascade is a 2.5 hour drive - one way. My first look didn't find any nearby ranges - closest in Green Bay, maybe a 1.5 hour drive one way. Recently my wife found several listed much closer. I'll look into them when we can travel. Honestly, we are pretty much holed up to avoid the virus.

We have very large front (toward the road) windows - imagine six sliding glass door panes - across our great room. We see everything and everyone that goes down the road or turns into our driveway. So many people walking by strain to see us inside (nosey). I (we) imagine the scenario where someone pulls into the driveway, I walk to the window to see who it is, someone I don't know comes to the sliding glass door or nearby front door, and starts kicking their way in. What do I do? One dog would start barking for sure. That is a good thing. After that, I'm not sure.

I'm not imagining more than a few people, and the nice thing about a shotgun is it is very visible. Heck, just the pump is a very noticeable noise.

I do have some fairly close neighbors - next door and across the street a bit down the lakeshore (the lake is on the other side of the road). That is cause for concern with the handgun. Another reason I like the idea of the shotgun. I've read about the low kick (can't remember the name) defense shotgun shells and like that idea. I'm not sure if I can get those here. Again, I'll ask around as I can get out and about.

My only concern about the shotgun is conveniently having it nearby in the great room. Hanging on the wall puts it in view from outside. If I had a stand, I could put it upright in a less visible corner. I've looked for an upright stand online, but didn't find one for one gun. I'll probably try to create one. I kind of like the idea of having the shotgun chamber empty, but shells in the magazine (its a pump Remington 870 I've had since a teenager squirrel hunting).

BTW, talking with our hay guy (for our horses) a few weeks ago ... apparently very late one evening (near 11 pm) he's getting ready for bed when his dogs start barking. He looks outside and sees a car with headlights on parked maybe 200 feet from his house, in front of his barns. He grabs his 30-30, goes outside, and finds someone on the side of his house (picture an older farm house). It turned out it was a census guy - not sure what he was doing at the side of the house - at 11 pm, on a remote farm, in the dark. The hay guy chewed him out good.

BTW, I feel better having seen Doug in the conversation. I don't mean to turn this into a shooter's/defense forum. I was VERY intrigued by the inReach/ATT issue post. Watching it closely.

Firearms are an important survival tool! A gun isn't always the right tool for the job, but when it is no other option is as good. Hopefully you have a bit of ammo salted away; it might be pretty hard to find defensive ammo in any of the most popular rounds (eg 9mm, 5.56, & 12 ga). I don't have very much reduced recoil stuff on hand, mostly just full-power 00 Buckshot.

If you can't find anything locally let me know. I could ship some but I'd have to find a shipper. UPS will ship ammo IRC but not at the UPS Store, you generally have to find their office/warehouse.

Mom has been saying how difficult it is to buy ammo this year.

Jeanette Isabelle

A Census guy? On a remote farm? At 11pm? I’d have called the cops for sure, and if he was acting more suspiciously than just being there (like walking around the side of the house, peering in windows, or something like that) there’d be cause to make him wait for the cops.

Right now I'm trying really hard to talk myself out of buying some Level IV rifle plates! Intellectually I know the odds of 1) needing rifle-rated armor are low and 2) the odds of actually having it on when I do suddenly need it are lower still. But it's just very cool, the tech is interesting and it's not super expensive in the grand scheme of things. The stuff that uses tiled ceramic over UHMWPE is very light, around $120/plate and has been demonstrated to reliably stop multiple rounds of M193, M855, .30/06 and even 300 Win Mag and .338 Lapua.

Of course, I've made it to age 51 without getting into a firefight...

I've taken advantage of the Glock Blue Label purchase program when they made it available for DD214 holders also ... a G45 last year and a G43x this... Steel Challenge competition has really become popular around the Tampa Bay area... bought myself an early birthday present...a Holosun 507 for the 10/22... Trijicon RMR2 last year

I'd be worried that I'd run into an attacker who thinks like me. "Hey, I hit him dead center chest and he didn't go down. I'll aim for the head next."

Sounds gruesome, but if you're serious about self defense you have to be willing to think through the various scenarios you might encounter and plan for them. Including an armored assailant.

So head shots are one potential minus for rifle plates. However, they are cheap (relatively speaking), and that's a definite plus for them. An additional plus is that even an untrained attacker will probably shoot for the chest - where the plate is - just by instinct. And a second minus is that they'll most likely pull the shot way low due to lack of training and practice, and get you in the abdomen, below the plate.

So the typical idiot attacker will pull their initial shot and hit you low, then under recoil their second uncontrolled shot will hit you high. Your rifle plate will remain unscathed. You can't win! (sarcasm)

If that happens, you are at least not worse off than not wearing a rifle plate. Your rifle plate will stay in mint condition . In some cases the plate may help.
I contemplated to get a chain mail shirt under my shirt. Culture shifted to a little more blade works and most injuries occur in the abdominal and chest region. OTOH incedients are really rare where I live.

Most people aren't great shots and hitting someone in the head is no mean feat on a two way range.

I shoot weekly with a couple of friends at a high end indoor range... they are content to slow fire at targets at 5 and 7 yards.. I shoot at 25yd...they are convinced that any attacker will wait until they get that close...I'm not so sure

I've been shooting the practical gun games for nearly 40 years... slowed down on the 3 gun and USPSA pistol, but shoot PCC and Steel Challenge... it is nice to know that your 3 gun rifle is capable of 10" MGM flash targets at 418m with a 15" wind hold off, and that an AR9mm handles just like the 5.56 version

I used to do high power metallic silhouette and bowling pin shooting. Tons of fun! I'd like to get back into some form of competition but it will have to wait til the pandemic blows over (and of course til ammo returns).

Some say there's no legal justification for taking a shot past 25 yards but simply perusing the news stories will show otherwise. I recall one case where a private citizen came to the aid of an LEO that was pinned down behind a tree by a rifle armed felon. The GGWAG opened fire on the BG at something like 100 yards with his wheelgun. Obviously if you're taking fire from whatever range and can't escape you probably have justification to defend yourself.

You can't armor up your entire body but a lot of people have been saved by body armor, hard and soft. I have some soft panels and some steel IIIa (hard to explain the thought process I grant you...) purchased back when pistols where the main threat. While they probably still are the primary weapons of your average criminal the ubiquity of the AR over the last decade has led to rifles being used in crime more. They're still not that common but if I wind up in a gunfight I'm already having a "Black Swan" kind of a day. There's a non-zero chance of facing off against an adversary that's armed with a rifle so I am at least considering it as an option.

For new gun owners, or those who have minimal training in the "art" of self-defense (vs. shooting holes in stationary paper targets), my friend Rich Grassi just published a column into which I had some input that may be worth your while reviewing:

https://www.shootingwire.com/features2c6d52e2-7eb8-4171-85f0-98b748dfa52b

At the end, you'll note that he suggests the Armed Citizen Legal Defense Network.  I prefer, and we endorse and have teamed up with, U.S. Law Shield. As disclosure, Knife Rights gets a modest payment when someone signs up through us: https://kniferights.org/legislative-update/protect-yourself    Signing up through us provides a significant discount.

Stay secure, stay safe.

More small and large gear bags.
gotta keep it all organized.

I'm still looking to find me one of them bad boy 10,000 amp batteries! Don't accidentally short the contacts, or you'll vaporize North America.

Got a bunch of filters for my mask. Don't want to smell my delicious Indian lunch the day after.

Link doesn't work

Ditto on the gear bags - I just bought a few compression sacks for my camping equipment and some plastic bins to organize all my gear.

Other purchases were a new winter sleeping bag and new insulated air mattress. I'm going to do more winter camping this year (-20°C and below) with my hot tent. Last year -10°C was the limit of my gear. I figure if it gets much colder than that, I'm probably not going to be enjoying being outside anyways so why should I buy -40°C gear?

New Lifestraw filter to try

CountyComm has a new pouch — the “Corner Zipper Wallet”. It’s a great size for a pocket kit. My sample is well-made and works well for its intended purpose. No affiliation.

Damn, I haven't been to the CountyComm site in several years...and now I'm not going to need a wallet because I won't have any money. That titanium mini-crescent wrench is sweet!
-Blast

Yeah visits to the CountyComm site tend to be expensive!

I’ve been working super hard to not buy either of the titanium adjustable wrenches.

I guess it's a new purchase that could peripherally be "preparedness"- I just ordered a new upper! It's a Primary Weapons System Mk114 Mod 1 and the Enhanced Buffer Tube. It would have been great to get the whole rifle but they're unobtainum and I was lucky to find the upper! They're made right across the border from me in Idaho.

The roof rack for my 4Runner just arrived!
Arctech Industries Venture Roof Rack

The crossbars slide into the factory-installed roof rails, giving it a low profile and easy installation. More importantly, they also sell a bottle opener that bolts to the rack.
-Blast

The 4" titanium wrench from CountyComm is really nice. Dropped in a rear jeans pocket and I can't even feel it there. It is well made and it has quickly become a necessary part of my EDC.

bought a huge memory card for the phone, so now I can carry around books.