Well, for reason’s that are beyond my comprehension, my favorite MH meal is Beef Stew (actually, I think it’s called “Hearty Stew with Beef, but in my World, any stew with Beef is…well…beef stew )! I always make sure that there is at least one pouch of this meal in my backpack when I go camping or hunting. There’s just something about coming back to camp and having a hot meal of Beef stew after I’ve been tromping around the mountain all day that I find very appealing!

My second favorite Mountain House offering is Chili Mac. It simply rocks! My third, well, just about any other offering in the MH line, I love them all but if I had to choose a #3, it would be Chicken Ala King or Spaghetti!

The Winner of this giveaway was Robert, who guessed Beef Stew. He’ll be getting those three pouches in the mail by next week. Thanks Robert, I hope you enjoy those MH freeze dried entrees!

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For many, many years Greece has been one of those “progressive” liberal countries who have given their citizens all sorts of handouts. In fact, in years past (as far back as the 80′s that I can remember), Greece was listed as one of the best places to live in the World because of the availability of State run programs that provided it’s citizens a wide range of handouts. You had all types of handouts from health care to transportation that the government of Greece generously gave its citizens.

But then as the economic slowdown started affecting Europe and other Countries, Greece started feeling the pinch. In short, they started accruing huge amounts of debt much faster than their ability to pay. And when some in the government tried to do the right thing and cut those programs that were sucking the government dry, well, the people didn’t like it and they started rioting in the streets. How dare the Government take away their freebies!

Obviously, the opposition has offered no real solution that would save Greece from collapsing financially. The people don’t care as long as they get their freebies. They don’t seem to grasp the concept that if their government doesn’t stop the bleeding of money, they’re country will be nothing more than just another crappy third world country and they won’t get their freebies then either. Or maybe they do and they still don’t care. Who is the Government to tell them to pay their own tolls, tuition and health care?!!

Could The Financial Crisis in Greece Happen In The U.S.?

If you’re reading this article, then you probably already know the answers. The short answer is “YES”.

In fact, many experts say we’re real close to the same thing happening here. If you’re watching the debate over whether or not to raise the debt limit, then you’re a little more educated than the average person on the street.

For many, many years the Democrats and Liberals have fought tooth and nail to increase the size of the government. Why? For the same reason  other governments do it, to pacify a section of the voting block who want the government handouts. They believe this is the way to remain in power, or to get voted into a position of power.

This is why they keep pushing for government run health care programs like Obamacare. This is why Clinton wanted to increase benefits to those not paying taxes and to increase taxes on working Americans. Just look at all the so called “Social Programs” we already have!!!

I too believe we’re on our way to looking a lot like Greece in the not-to-distant future. Just look at how people are reacting when they think their government handouts here at home are going to get taken away. Look how the the Unions are reacting when their tax payer funded handouts are being cut due to State government shortfalls. You only have to see the demonstrations in places like Wisconsin and New Jersey to get a glimpse of things to come if the government continues to give handouts and continue to increase taxes on the working Americans.

Not only that, but inflation is like Superman these days. It’s up, up and away! (sorry, couldn’t resist that one). The other day I filled up my pickup since had came down to $3.49 per gallon. I wondered then how people making minimum wage and others could make it. Later on that day I was reading the grocery flyers in the mail. I noticed that one store near us had 80/20 hamburger meat on sale for $3.19 a pound! It wasn’t even the Select grade of hamburger!!

Hamburger and Chicken use to be the two meats you could afford if you had more month at the end of the money. It was just cheap meat. Not any longer!

Wages haven’t kept up with these increases. When people start getting hungrier than they are and lose their jobs because they can’t afford to drive back and forth every day, they’re going to start pouring into the streets. You watch.

Plan Now – Survive Later On

I know you’re probably feeling the pinch too. I have a pretty good job and it hurts everytime I fill up my truck or my Wife’s car. It hurts every time I go into the grocery store. It’s one reason we started really bearing down and using more and more coupons!

It’s also the main reason I’m cutting out the little luxuries and refocusing my attention, energy and money on Survival preparedness. I’m taking a long hard look at my survival plans and trying to shore them up where they are weakest. I’m adding food, water, alternative means of transportation and energy, ammo and guns to my store house and making additional plans should the need arise to bug out or stay put. I have plans A through G as of now and will probably finish the alphabet by the end of the year!

I seriously believe you should be planning for the same as well. I don’t want to see my fellow Americans in the street rioting, but if they do, I’ll be tucked away and letting have their way…until they come down my driveway.

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Now in all fairness, I will also tell you that Mountain House sent me some of their Wraps to review. They also sent along a few of their other menu items in pouches for me to give away to my readers. Any time someone wants to send me free food to try out, I’m all for it!

There was just one little problem. They sent it at a time I was involved in a major renovation on a part of our house and I put the pouches with my own stockpile of Mountain House foods and simply forgot about them. That was until I went to get a few pouches out of the Pantry for an upcoming camping trip and noticed the pouch that said “Mountain House Wraps – Buffalo Style Chicken”.

I thought to myself “Now I don’t remember buying that”. Then it hit me! “OMG!, I was suppose to try a couple of these out and review them for Mountain House!”  Geez, they sent them last July and I just found them in my store room the other day!

Well, being the good reviewer that I am…and one always willing to try new foods , I put on some water to boil and decided I’d have that Buffalo Style Chicken for lunch right then!

I also whipped out some tortillas. I mean, after all, I was reviewing the “wraps”. Since we’re big Mexican food eaters around here anyway, the tortillas were handy anyway! I always like to throw them on the stove and heat them with the open flame. My Wife on the other hand, hates it when I do that. So I make sure I only do it when she’s not home!

With the water boiling, I poured some into the pouch and stirred. I followed directions and let it sit for a spell before dishing it out on my tortillas.

Since I had never had this flavor before, I didn’t really know what to expect. So at the first bite, I was both amazed and not so amazed. I was amazed because it actually tasted like Buffalo Wings! Not so amazed because every entree that I’ve had from Mountain House has tasted just like I thought it was suppose to!

I also was more than a little surprised that this Buffalo Style chicken actually had a little bite to it. I like my food on the Spicy side! They weren’t as hot (spicy wise) as the Buffalo Wings I normally eat, but I didn’t expect it to be that hot anyway! A nice surprise and they made a filling lunch.

While I ate, I read the package to look over the ingredients and the nutritional label. (yeah, I probably should read these things before I eat them… )

Hey, these things pack quite a bit of protein and other basic necessities. Especially if you’re far from a market and still need nutritious foods when doing strenuous activities like hiking and hunting … or surviving! The nutrients in these pouches is just one reason I have several in my bug out bag. Other reasons are because they’re relatively lightweight and are easy to prepare. There’s not much more you can ask for in a survival food!

I ate the Bacon Skillet wrap for breakfast one morning on the camping trip and it was every bit as good as the Buffalo Style Chicken. In fact, one evening I caught myself wishing I had another helping of that spicy pouch of Buffalo Style Chicken goodness!

It should go without saying that I’ve added these two flavors to my stockpile of food.

Free Mountain House Freeze Dried Food Giveaway

So now I have three pouches of Mountain House freeze dried food to give a way. I’ve wondered how would be a creative way to find the perfect person to give it to. So the only thing I can come up with now is this.

Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite entree of Mountain House food is. It can be pouches or the #10 cans. Just pick one and one entree only and let me know. If your favorite matches my favorite, you’ll win one pouch serving of the Mountain House freeze dried Ice Cream Sandwich,one pouch of Scrambled Eggs with Bacon and a pouch of Chicken Stew!

If more than one person guess correctly, then I’ll randomly draw from those who guess correctly for the winner.

I’ll let this run until July 7th, which according to my old email, is the date last year that Brittany at Mountain House contacted me in regards to trying the Wraps. Good luck and let me know what your favorite Mountain House freeze dried food entree is…you just might win!

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But if you think you need some kind of military style rifle for your home, here are 5 military surplus rifles I would recommend. I compiled this list by looking at what the guns would be used for. In reality, I don’t think you have to worry about repelling hordes of starving Zombies or UN Troops. So you’ll not find assault rifles such as the M14 on this list. Mainly due to their price. For the same reason, you won’t see the M1 Garand or the 1903 Springfield on my list although I think they would be great for the job of keeping the homestead safe,, but they’re way too pricey these days. Also, if you’re into hunting, here’s a list I found of 5 military surplus rifles for deer hunting. I believe most of you will be using it for the same reasons as I do. Keeping varmints at bay and the peace of mind of having something a little more powerful than a 12 gauge for home protection.

#1. The legendary SKS. Yeah, you read it right, the SKS. I’m not a big fan of the SKS or the 7.62×39 round but there is no argument that a quality SKS is reliable and the ammo for it is reasonable. Sometimes downright cheap if you don’t mind full metal jackkets and steel cased ammo (which means you can’t reload the steel cases after they’ve been fired). Accuracy under 100 yards isn’t that bad either. I have several friends and a couple Cousins who have the SKS and a few of them have surprised me with their ability to connect on targets out to 100 yards. One of my Cousins takes 3 to 5 deer a year with his. Of course, he uses modern expanding ammo to do this, not the cheap surplus FMJ ammo.

Prices of SKS’s (like a lot of other things) have skyrocketed in recent times, but you can still find the odd deal on SKS’s at some pawn shops and guns stores if you shop around.

#2. Mosin-Nagant 1891/30. This is a bolt action rifle that fires the 7.62x54mm Russian round. This round is in the ballpark with the 308 in terms of recoil and ballistics. And before you anal types get you panties in a wad, notice I said “in the ballpark”, meaning ‘not exactly’

Many of these surplus rifles are very accurate and reliable. So much so that a lot of them were turned into Sniper rifles for the Ruskies as well as North Vietnam troops during the Vietnam War. Prices have been headed higher over the years and it can be tricky to find good surplus ammo. For hunting and self defense, there are modern expandable bullets made for this gun.

#3. Japanese Type 38. These rifles, along with just about all surplus rifles, are getting more rare by the minute. But you can still find them hiding away in pawn shops and some gun stores. I prefer the 6.5x50mm Arisaka round over the Type 99′s larger 7.7mm because the recoil is lighter and I haven’t seen any advantage in accuracy with the Type 99 over the Type 38′s smaller round. This is a fun gun to shoot and will meet just about any demands you have from it.

#4. Swiss K31 Carbine. It’s often called the best combat rifle that never saw combat. Whatever you call it, one thing is for sure, like the Type 38 above, it’s a blast to shoot and the recoil is reasonable. The 7.5x55mm round is more than any Coyote or Groundhog wants to mess with. It’s arguably one of the most accurate military surplus rifles you’ll ever come across and many modern gun makers could take a lesson on workmanship on most of the rifles I’ve seen. You just don’t see this level of workmanship on most of today’s guns as you do these old Swiss K31′s.

#5. Britsh Lee-Enfield Mk1 #5 Jungle Carbine. I hesitated to put this gun in this list. Why? Simply because in the carbine form, this gun is an ass kicker! It’s not that the 303 British round is a heavy recoiling round, because it’s really not. It’s that this gun weighs around 7 pounds so the felt recoil is going to be greater. If you live up North where you have to worry about marauding bears or putting a Moose in the freezer, the Lee-Enfield Jungle Carbine with modern expanding 303 British ammo will serve you well! It’s nearly impossible to find truly ‘surplus’ jungle carbines these days, although you can find previously owned rifles in pawn shops and gun shops around the country.

I hope you’ve found this list helpful. If you’re on a budget and you need a cheap rifle around the homestead, then any of these should perform well for you. You can expect to pay anywhere from $100 on up to around 3 or 4 hundred for some of these rifles. Before buying any of these military surplus rifles for survival, make sure you can locate a source of good quality ammo!

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I”m going to start off by saying that neither my Wife nor I are experts at couponing and I don’t consider ourselves even old Salts at it even though we’ve been doing it since we were married. We’ve used coupons to save money on our normal grocery shopping trips so it was only natural when we decided to start putting food back, we’d use coupons for the food and supplies we were putting back for a rainy day.

But as I see it, there was a silver lining to the extreme couponing show even if it meant that now many stores are cutting back on how many coupons they allow and ending their double and triple coupon programs. The one good thing I’ve seen is how many otherwise sane people look at those of us who stockpile for a rainy day. We’re considered “hoarders” or “kooks” because we believe in being prepared. I’ve been skimming some of my Wife’s coupon forums and I can’t believe how many people are complaining about those who are stockpiling all that product. Instead of “Hey, they’re smart, they’re stocking up”, you’re hearing “Why do they need 15 bottles of detergent” or “No one needs 50 boxes of toothpaste”. It’s these types of people who will be moaning the most if a day ever comes when they have none of that!

Anyway, on to the tips. I’ve ranted long enough. My Wife and I just got back from a somewhat normal shopping trip. We visited a Homeland that doubles coupons everyday. It’s about 15 miles away and we pass by several of our favorite stores because this one will double coupons and has some pretty good sales. Sadly, it’s a little store in a little town and it doesn’t have near the selection that some of the larger stores near us have. But we can’t hit homeruns all the time!

Anyway, our total before anything was $204. After our loyalty card, it was $165. After our coupons had been rung up, we owed $90.36. About 2/3rds of that product went to our food stockpile. Some of the things we bought were laundry detergent, condiments (many of which were free when the coupon was doubled), canned food and cleaning supplies. The price would have been lower, but I was weak and bought some stuff that we did not have a coupon for such as some Tony Chachere’s Fish Batter (never tried it and it was on sale for 4 boxes for $5, call me weak!) We do this once a month or so as well as pick up canned goods during our regular trips to the grocery store.

Tip #1 – Don’t buy something just because you have a coupon for it, unless… Many times people get suckered into buying something they normally wouldn’t because they have a coupon for it. They never stop to think if they can get it cheaper somewhere else. If we buy something just because we have a coupon, it’s because it’s a good deal and we can donate that item and take a write off on our taxes. Cat food is a good example. We get a lot of coupons for cat food and a lot of it winds up being free or low cost. I don’t have cats so I donate this to a rescue or our local dog (cat?) pound (well…what I don’t sneak out of the stockpile behind my Wife’s back to use on the trapline or fish bait).

Tip#2 – Not everything is a good deal, even if you have a coupon for it! My Wife and I pretty much know what are good deals and what isn’t. We know which stores in our area carry certain products for leass plus we look over all the sales flyers. The particular store mentioned above has some things that are higher than some of the stores like Wal-Mart and Target. Even though we won’t get out coupon doubled there, the prices the larger stores have on these products are still lower even with the coupon. Plus, Wal-Mart and Target may have smaller sizes that we can use our coupon on and end up getting it for much less, possibly even for free! And for the record, I like free food!

Make sure you’re not overpaying and that you’re actually getting a good deal before going out. We can never get the utmost best deals on food and supplies from one store. It usually takes a trip to several stores over the period of a month to max out savings.

Tip #3 – Couponing is hard work! When many people find out how much time and effort goes into obtaining coupons, they back way off. We spend many hours a week searching online for coupons as well as our sales papers and Sunday newspapers. We buy anywhere from 3 to 5 Sunday newspapers from several towns to get a good variety of coupons. We also have all our neighbors save their newspapers and sales papers that they don’t use. Then, we carefully go over the sales paper and try to match up coupons for the items on sale. This is just one way how you can leverage your savings! Yeah, it takes time and effort. More than some folks are willing to put into it. But when we’re saving over $100 per week on food and supplies, you better believe I’ll take an hour or two to save that kind of money!

Tip #4 – Join a coupon club to max out your coupons and learn little secrets that can really save you lots of money. My Wife belongs to a local coupon club and is a member of several online coupon websites such as theKrazyCouponLady.com, MoneySavingQueen.com and Coupons.com. There’ll probably others, but those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head that she talks about the most. Many of these sites will have people on them that will do the match up for each store and tell you which coupons to use to save the most. There’s some amazing deals going on those sites!

Tip#5 – Know exactly what the Coupon policy is of the store you’re shopping at and know what you’re buying. As I said above, with the swarm of people thinking they’re going to buy $1000 worth of groceries for $1 using coupons, many of the stores are changing their coupon policy to limit consumers. I’ve seen some change them from week to week. So either download it only or ask the Manager to email you their coupon policy before going. Also, you have to be really careful to read the coupon and match it up perfectly to what you’re buying. I hear of people “thinking” they got the right product only to find out that they don’t get to use the coupon because of some fine print on the coupon. Never go by what the picture is on the coupon, always read it and know exactly what you need to make the coupon ring up.

These are the major things we do to save a lot of money on our food and supplies. There are many ways to save a lot of money and you’ll find those coupon sites listed above as a great source of information about the different ways you can use coupons to build your food stockpile. If you haven’t started yet, what are you waiting on?

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Before we dive into the different types of Archery tackle for survival, let’s get acquainted with a few reasons why we need Archery tackle in the first place. Later on I’m going to be introducing you to the modern compound bow and accessories as well as the recurve bow and the crossbow. All lethal weapons in the right hands of someone who knows what they’re doing.

Advantages of Owning Archery Equipment In A Survival Situation

First just let me say that if you buy a bow and some arrows and stick back in the far corners of your closet, you might as well save that money and buy food with it. A bow and arrow is not something you just take out once or twice a year and are instantly proficient with it. It will take regular practice to become adequate using Archery equipment.

In my opinion, there are many reasons to have Archery tackle around when your prepping. Number one with me is the low noise of the equipment. If you’re in a Survival situation where you DON”T want to be found, then the last thing you want is for someone to locate you by the sound of a gun. Even the loudest crossbow is still quieter than an unsilenced centerfire rifle or handgun.

Number two is the availability of ammo. Even if you’ve stocked up thousands of rounds of ammo, you run the chance of having it discovered, become wet or simply using it up if you’re in a prolonged survival situation. Most of the time you’ll be able to reuse arrows shot from your bows. Sure, you’ll lose a few and destroy some, but I bet you’ll get to use an arrow more times than you will a single cartridge from a gun!

My third reason is the lethality of a bow and arrow. With a broadhead tipped arrow, I can take everything from a Chipmunk to a Grizzly. Sure, I could do that with a 308 but it wouldn’t leave much of the Chipmunk for dinner and it might be too light for Griz. On the other hand, a FMJ bullet from a 5.56 might leave the hindquarters of a head shot Chipmunk and I’m pretty sure it would leave a PO’d Grizzly.

And as has been proven for thousands of years, it’s lethal on two legged varmints as well.

And finally, if nothing else, owning Archery equipment will just give you more options when the chips are down. And that’s a good thing.

Now, let’s take a look at some Archery tackle.

Different Types of Archery Tackle For Survival

Compound Bow

The compound bow has been around since the 60′s. It basically uses a series of cables and pulleys to reduce the weight needed to pull the bow back to full draw. For example, if you wanted to shoot a 60lb compound bow, then the reduction of weight can go as high as 80 percent. Which means once you start drawing the compound, the pulleys (and in most cases, “cams”) will reduce the weight needed to reach full draw by 80 percent. Some bows only reduce the weight by 50 or 60 percent. Since each compound is different, you need to make sure which one you’re getting.

Now if you wanted to shoot that same 60lbs in a recurve bow, you’d start out by pulling lighter weight, but to reach full draw you’d have to pull the entire 60lbs with no let off! You see, recurves are basically just curved wood that gets its energy from the limbs as they are bent backward. When released, they’ll spring forward propelling the arrow into flight.

The disadvantage of the modern compound is that it requires quite a bit of adjusting and tuning in order to shoot well. Older compound bows that use simple round wheels will not require as much tuning, on average, as the modern cam bows, but they are not as fast either. With more stuff on a modern compound, there’s more chance for things to go wrong at the moment of truth.

Recurve Bows and Longbows

As I stated above, a recurve is a bow with curved limbs with no wheels to reduce the pull weight. Longbows are the long bows you’ll see in movies set in Medieval times such as in Robin Hood.

The disadvantage of these bows is that you must pull the entire weight to reach full draw. If you’re not familiar with your bow, this can be difficult to do.

The advantage on the other hand is that these bows are probably the quietest bows you’ll ever shoot. I’ve actually missed a Doe at 30 yards once and all she did was jump, look back and walk about 15 more yards quartering toward me and the second arrow found its mark.

I personally enjoy shooting recurves. But the many years of shooting 50 or so times per day have left my shoulders in bad shape. You don’t have to shoot that much to be proficient, but you will need to shoot a few times every day. If you’re like me, you’ll find it fun and you’ll naturally want to shoot more and more.

Crossbows

Crossbows have been used for gathering food and warding of Castle raiders for centuries. There’s a lot of myth and B.S. surrounding modern crossbows, but fear not, I’ll clear a lot of it up for you.

In my opinion, the modern crossbow could well be the perfect survival weapon. I have, and highly recommend, recurve crossbows. The brand I think is the best crossbow for survival are Excalibur crossbows. I have three and all three are scary accurate when properly set up. More importantly, they’re durable and reliable. Simple to set up and shoot.

Last fall I ordered a used crossbow off of ebay and it was shipped from Wisconsin. The gentleman completely disassembled the Excalibur Vortex and shipped it to me. He took the scope and scope mount off, took the barrel off of the stock and the limbs off of the barrel and removed the trigger assembly. When I received it, I reassembled it in about 30 minutes and took it outside to shoot. My first 3 shot group hit 1 and 1/2 inches high at 30 yards! This thing was practically ready to go out of the box!

There’s damn few firearms that you could disassemble to that degree, put back together and expect them to be less than 2 inches from original zero!

As I said earlier, I prefer the recurve crossbow over the compound crossbows for the reason that I prefer recurve bows over compound bows. There’s a lot less to go wrong and they don’t have to be tuned to the degree compound bows do in order to get them to shoot well. For example, if I have a string break on my Excalibur crossbow, I simply replace it in the field. I don’t even need a stringer to do this (but I use one because it’s easier). On the other hand, if I have a string break on a compound crossbow, I’ll have to take it into an archery shop that knows how to restring it and hopefully I haven’t damaged other parts in the process.

Also, crossbows are just easier for beginners to use the same as a compound bow is easier for a beginner to use over a recurve.

Which Bow Should A Beginner Use For Survival?

If you’re going to purchase a bow strictly for survival. Hands down I recommend a recurve crossbow such as the Excalibur. Don’t get caught up in the poundage hype or the speed hype. A 150lb pull crossbow like the Excalibur Vixen II will bring down anything that walks. What’s more, when using a stringer or cable cocker, even the smallest Women and Teenagers can cock and shoot them.

If you’re willing to take the time to become proficient with a bow, then I’d suggest a compound bow. Later if you want, you can try a recurve. But starting out, a compound bow will be easier to learn to shoot.

Now listen up! If you plan on buying and learning how to shoot any Archery equipment, get it from an Archery shop. Don’t try and save a few bucks by ordering it from online or buying them at some big box store. You need an expert to help you get set up properly and to give you some pointers on doing it right.

Since I’m on the subject of being cheap, don’t run out and buy those little pistol crossbows or the $100 crossbows on ebay!! Get a real weapon! A modern crossbow will run you from about $300 and up. I’d plan on spending around $500 or more for a quality set up. A compound bow will run you in the same neighborhood, maybe less depending on the brand.

There’s a lot of hype in Archery. Some compounds will cost you over a grand. I believe that’s way overpriced. You can get a good dependable compound bow kit ready for hunting from Bear or other manufacturers for around $300. These are generally reliable bows and any animal you shoot won’t know the difference between your bow and a $1000 bow!

Also, don’t think you need a heavy poundage bow. It seems that some Archers and many Archery Shop owners relate bow poundage to their manhood. But the reality is that a modern compound bow in the 40 to 60lb range is more than enough for all North American game animals. I wouldn’t want to us it on a Grizzly or Moose, but it will kill them if it’s all you have, as long as you put the arrow where it belongs!

The same is true with Crossbows. A 125lb pull compound crossbow is a deadly weapon. By the way, crossbows have to have the larger pull weights due to the short limbs. Shorter limbs equal less energy transfer so more poundage is needed to get higher energy levels to the shorter arrows.

Like I said above, a 150lb crossbow is bad news for anything you come across as long as you put that arrow where it belongs. Manufacturers you’ll want to look at for quality recurve crossbows are Excalibur, Ten Point, Middleton and Horton to name a few.

Nearly all major bow manufacturers have a line of crossbows, recurves and compounds. Some of the better names I’m familiar with are Bear, BowTech, Darton, Martin, Mathews and Hoyt.

As for arrows, you’ll find this is a whole nother can of worms! Generally speaking, you’ll have two materials to choose from and each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

First let me say that I would only used wood arrows in recurve and longbows. I’d never use them in a crossbow or compound. And if you do use them in a recurve, make sure they’re spined for your bow weight.

Having said all of that, Aluminum has been used to make arrows for decades and it’s still a good choice. However aluminum shafts do bend and it’s not uncommon to bend one after shooting it many times. Fortunately for me, if I bend on of my longer arrows that I shoot out of my compounds or recurves, I cut it off and make a crossbow bolt from it (if the bend is toward the end).

The other material that has become popular is carbon. Carbon arrows don’t bend, but they will splinter and explode if they hit a solid object like a rock or hard clay bank head on. Not only that, but they are usually more expensive than aluminum. However in recent years I’ve seen the prices come closer together due to the price of metals skyrocketing.

Your local bow shop can help get you set up with the proper arrows for your bow.

As for the points, again you have several choices here. You’ll hear people talk about field points or practice points. These are nothing more than target points used for practice. They are not meant for hunting although I have used them in a pinch to take small game.

If you’re serious about small game hunting, and you should be, there are points with spring arms meant to take small game. These spring arms grab the animal and help the arrow deliver more shock, thus killing the animal quicker. They also grab anything else in case you miss or have a pass thru and prevents the arrow from burying up. Zwickey Judo points are great examples of these heads.

Finally there are broaheads. These are razor sharp pieces of metal. In fact some are nothing more than razor blades attached to a metal ferrule. There are others that are thicker and you’ll have to learn how to sharpen these. Most of these types of broadheads are called fixed bladed broadheds. Obviously, the razor type broadheads are more popular because the razors can be changed out quickly with new ones. Some good examples of razor heads are G5′s, Wasp, Muzzy, NAP Thunderheads and Slick Tricks.

Good examples of fixed bladed broadheads that will require you to sharpen them are: Zwickey Black Diamonds, Steel Force and Magnus.

Finally, I know I probably left out a few things, but hopefully this info will give you a starting point. It’s why I called it “A Beginners Guide To Archery Equipment For Survival“! Hell, there’s been whole volumes of books published on the subject of getting into Archery! I don’t expect to cover it all in a blog post! If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line or visit several of the Archery Forums on the Internet. But probably the best source you can get is your local Archery Shop. Sure, there are a lot of owners who are jerks, but many more are genuinely interested in making sure you become the best Archer you can be. And in a survival situation, trust me, you want to have the utmost confidence in your archery equipment and your skills!

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What amazed me was how quick the Union and mainstream media have reacted in trying to contain the fallout from this leaked audio. Even though they introduce Stephen as being from SEIU at this meeting, the media and other outlets are trying to paint him as a “former” SEIU member.

What’s more unsettling, apparently this guy is known by the White House as he’s visited there more than once and has had high ranking meetings with Officials from the Treasury. I don’t know about you, but this isn’t passing the sniff test!!

Take a listen to the audio and see what you think. Then ask yourself, if this had been a conservative Official discussing these plans, how long do you think it would have taken for the FBI and a half  dozen other Government agencies to swoop in and arrest him? But apparently this doesn’t happen if you’re friends with the White House.

At one point in the Video, he even catches himself from telling everyone the details of the plan, saying that there may be “Police Agents” in the room.

Really Stephen? Geez, I wonder why!

This guy also goes on to say that the Unions are basically dead as are the Community Organizers if they continue on the path they are on. This is where he starts laying out the plan they have to cause chaos in the financial markets.

Stephen goes to great lengths to tell the people at the meeting that the Unions can’t afford for this unrest to be seen as coming from the Unions, that it must be seen as a grass roots organization. He says the Unions can’t take the risk. Hmmm…take what risk and why?

Basically what they’re planning is a “mortgage strike”. Where they call for people to stop paying their mortgages so that it would bring the banks and lenders to a state of insolvententcy. Not only that, but they’ll be calling for Students to stop paying their student loans back. Seeing how Student have TRILLIONS of our dollars already, not paying back those loans could be the straw that breaks the Camels back. And the Unions know this!!

He goes as far as saying that if they can get homeowners and students to stop paying their bills, then the Unions will also be able to use collective bargaining through negotiations with States and City contracts to insist that the banks forgive loans and/or greatly reduce the interest rates the Government entities are paying. Isn’t this considered blackmail?

Here’s the audio. Yeah, it’s really a YouTube video with only the audio so don’t think the video portion isn’t working, because it is.

The Unions have been in decline for years. They know their time is coming to an end, but they’ll fight tooth and nail to keep their power and money. They’ll go to any measure to make sure they keep this power and money also. Even if it means bringing financial ruin to America. Is it any wonder why their image is tarnished? I would hate to be a Union member and know that an organization I belong to is trying to undermine my Country.

Wouldn’t someone planning such actions be guilty of conspiracy to commit Treason in any other Country?

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Lesson #1 – It Can Happen To You

Japan is notorious for its long lists of earthquakes. So it should come as no surprise after the last one, there would be another. Yet, there are millions of people living and working in Japan. From what I could tell, even in areas where the tsunami never reached, there is wide spread damage and people out of food begging for help. It’s like they never imagined this could happen.

I’m betting many of these people thought “it would never happen to me”. They gambled and they lost.

Never assume an emergency, whether it be a natural disaster or man made one, will not affect you. Everyone who lives on the West Coast should have an Earthquake preparedness kit and a minimum of two weeks worth of food and water stored up. What percentage of the people do you think do?

Also, how many people living in Southeastern Missouri, Northeast Arkansas (in the area of the New Madrid fault) and even as far away as Little Rock, Memphis Tn and parts of Illinois are prepared for a major earthquake such as the one that hit Japan?

Become aware that it can happen to you. Once you accept that you are susceptible to wildfires, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes or other disasters, you can then be more prepared for them. Sticking your head in the ground and saying it won’t happen to you will not save your ass during a disaster.

Lesson 2 – Technology is Great, but it won’t put food on the table after a disaster

The images that strike me at my core the most are those of people who are hungry and haven’t eaten in days. Sure, some are those that lived in the area ravaged by the tsunami and would have lost everything they stored, but then again doesn’t this stress the importance of planning and preparing for disasters that are likely to happen in your area?

I mean geez, if you live near the ocean and your area, (or even a region) is prone to having earthquakes, doesn’t the likelihood of one day being affected by a tsunami make you want to have alternate plans in case one hits?

Japan is known for their technology. Not only are they great at developing technologies, their people are probably the most “wired” citizens in the World. That could have affected how many of them thought about preparedness. Probably many figured their technology would give them enough warning to handle any disaster, if they thought about it at all.

Now most of them only have the Government take care of them.

I love my techno gadgets. But I also love my food stores and I know they’ll be there if a disaster strikes. I won’t have to wait for a Red Cross van or a FEMA center to open before I can get something to eat. I’ll just open my storage closet and decide what I’ll have to eat.

Lesson #3 – Never Depend on the Government for your Security or Groceries!

Remember when I said above about the people having to rely on the Government of Japan for food and shelter now? It only took about a day for government officials to come out and state that they were overwhelmed. You know what happens to a government gets overwhelmed? NOTHING! Nothing happens fast! You’ll go hungry.

Just another reason to have stored food and basic necessities and preferably stored on at least two different spots. People often look at me funny when I mention this, but what if you had a house fire or were flooded and all your food is stored in your house? You think your Insurance Man is gonna wave his magic wand and make all your food reappear? Good luck on that one!

Lesson #4 – Never Live Near A Nuclear Plant if You’re In A Earthquake Prone Area

You’d think this one would be a no brainer, but apparently it’s not. You preppers around 3 Mile Island may want to take note of this one too. Nuclear plants are constructed better than most other buildings that you can think of. Probably even better than Fort Knox. But an earthquake is one of those events that will really test even the best engineers can think of. It certainly did in the case of Japan and her Nuclear power plants.

I’m all for Nuclear power. I think it’s great. You can even put it in my back yard as long as the rates are cheap. Just pay me a reasonable market rate for my property and I’ll move away. You can have it. No way will I live remotely close to a Nuclear power plant! Radiation is a nasty little problem and one I don’t want to have to deal with, especially after a major disaster.

If you live near one now, you’ve been warned!

Lesson #5 – Prepare For The Worse and Hope For The Best

We already know this lesson, but how many actually practice it? Let’s look at what a typical Japanese family might had done if they’d lived on the Coast.

First off, they would have food stored at their homes for an emergency. At least two weeks worth, ideally longer.

Second, they should have a backup plan in place and a backup plan to the backup plan in case things get really bad. We know these as Plans A, B and C. You should have predetermined evacuation routes mapped out and each member of the family knows these routes. This family would have simple asked a few basic questions. “If a earthquake strikes us, where will we go?” “If a tsunami warning sounds, where we escape to?” “Which escape routes are furthest from the coast?”

If they owned a car or two, each one should have had an Earthquake kit in them and two or more in their home. The extras would be in bug out bags, which one should be in their cars as well and at work if they could swing it.

Probably the most important item next to transportation would be a second or even third location to bug out too in case of an emergency. The family would also have a way to contact each other and decide where to reassemble after an emergency. This should also be covered in their bug out plans in case the lines of communication were down. Have predetermined places to assemble after an emergency or natural disaster.

These bug out locations would also have some food and water stored. These could be your friends home in the Mountains or a cache hidden in the hills near a remote campground. You just need someplace to reassemble and regroup if you’ve been separated. You can then make further plans from there.

By the way, you people on the Left coast can use this theoretical situation to develop your own bug out plans in case of a natural disaster or other emergency.

I’m sure there are other lessons to be learned from this disaster. I’ve often heard it said that wise people learn from others bad experiences. I hope many of us can learn and better prepare for any emergency that might come upon us! The worse thing any of us could do is pretend it won’t happen to us or to not even start prepping because it seems like a daunting task.

You might also take a moment and take a look at what there was a run on after this disaster and what they quickly ran out of. Food, water, fuel, medicine, protective mask and clothing along with iodine tablets. How many of these do you have stored up for an emergency?

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What got me to thinking about this is the Mobster that was in the news this past week. This guy was hiding in plain site in Idaho. He’d been wanted on a number of Federal charges, including allegations that he tried to kill his Mob boss. One thing that I was impressed with is that this guy managed to stay out of sight for 17 years before getting found. I was also impressed that he learned how to raise cattle. I imagine that was a big undertaking for someone from the Bronx. I don’t remember seeing too many cattle ranches there myself.

Anyhow, the Feds aren’t saying how they found this guy, but I have a pretty good idea. You see, him and his longtime girlfriend split up a few months ago and she went back to her family in Utah. Isn’t it ironic that a few months after ending a long term relationship that the Feds find this guy after 17 years? I’ll let you be the judge of that!

How NOT to disappear completely

My Wife have a running bet anytime we hear about someone escaping from jail or prison. Our first bet is how long it will take before they catch the person. The next bet we make is whether they’ll catch him at his Mothers house or at his Girlfriends/Wife’s house! Really, how many of these escaped convicts have you heard being caught at one or the others home?

If you’re trying to disappear and not be found, it’s a pretty good bet you need to stay away from your family and friends!

Another fine example of your family turning you in is Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. What’s that old saying that you can pick your friends but not your family? Again, best to stay away, especially if you have a big price on your head!

Now, if the escapee is really smart, they’re usually captured because their car was pulled over for speeding down the Interstate or other moving violation (no tags on the car, a light out, etc).

Now that we’ve covered what NOT to do if you want to disappear, let’s see what steps we might take in order to vanish from society.

How To Disappear Completely

Now I’ve always thought that there were certain things you must do in order to disappear completely. Here’s my thoughts on the subject.

• Destroy all credit/debit cards, checks and all other paper trails including your Social Security number, Drivers License and other paper trails. You can count on never having those things again. There trails leading right to your door.
• Say goodbye to your family and friends. All of them! You know the old saying, “Two can keep a secret if one’s dead‘. You don’t have to off your Family and Friends, but you do have to break all contact with them and never contact them again. This goes for your girlfriends/boyfriend or significant other. Hasta La Vista Baby!
• You must relocate someplace that isn’t the center of attention. This pretty much means staying out of the larger cities and seek out rural areas. Here’s my list of the best places to survive in America, but then again, they might look for you there now that I published this list!
• Cash only. No credit cards or debit cards. Don’t leave any type of paper trail for them to follow you. Remember also that you can kiss your Health insurance and any retirement goodbye, including any Social Security you might get in the future.
• Hide in plain site. Keep your mouth shut. No one likes a bragard, liar or know it all. If you fall into one of these categories, you’re probably living a lie and will slip up sooner or later. More than one person has been captured because they shot their big mouth off.

The Mobster mentioned at the first of the story did many things right. He paid cash for everything, pretty much kept his mouth shut, although according the the news stories he did let a few things slip over the years.

But he also did a few things wrong. He put his house and land in his girlfriends name. Big mistake in my opinion. Kinda getting a tattoo of her name on your arm. If things go South, she gets a house and land. You get a permanent reminder that you made two mistakes! He probably should have sold everything and hightailed it when she left and went back to Utah.

In Ted’s case, he should have never let his family know where he lived. You ever heard that Money is thicker than blood? Tis true in many cases.

Okay, I’m sure I probably left something out. After all, like I said, I’m not an expert. However, I did find this piece about how to disappear completely and never be found. Apparently the person who wrote that piece put a lot more thought into it than I did!

So share with the readers how you would go about disappearing. I’m sure there will be some good lessons discussed on how to disappear completely.

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For starters, decide where you’re going to store you food. Even if there are only two of you, 6 months of food is a lot of food and it takes up a lot of space. 1 years worth of food could take up a whole room! So you need to decide where you’re going to start.

Next, the easiest way to get started preparing your family for an emergency is to just buy a little extra every time you go to the store. That’s all there is too it! Don’t buy exotic junk you have never tried. Buy stuff that you and your family eat all the time! But on this shopping trip, instead of just buying your usual grocery items, you’re going to buy some extra food. I always try to buy anywhere from $10 to $20 worth of food.

This food can be canned food, which is probably best for beginners. Corn, peas, beans, meat, tuna, salmon, etc all come in cans. Be sure to check the date on them and get the ones that have dates as far away as possible. I like to look for food that will last at least a year, preferably two or more years. E

Evaporated milk, spices, salt, sugar, dried rice and dried beans are also stuff you should ad. Below is a video I made to show you just how simple it is to get started.

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