Miltary Budget Cuts
Swimming Pools closed at Navy Bases
Budget cuts are the excuse for Independence Day Celebrations Cancelled at Military Bases.
When we can't afford to celebrate the 4th of July at Military bases you know that we are well down the road to collapse either financially or politically. The pool closings are to punish the military personnel.
Were it not for Printing Money Deflation Would have Stopped the Economy.
We are doing into the Greatest Depression according to Gerald Celente
I know the D word is Nasty but if it comes we won't be surprised and neither should you.
The Retirement Savings Shortfall Predicts Doom for Retirees
How bad is your retirement planning?
A good percentage of Americans have no retirement savings and those with some have way too little.
Even if things don't go bad for the financial system the people without adequate savings will be struggling and will live a difficult existence. If on the other hand the system takes a stumble and the value of the dollar goes downward into a spiral the nightmare for older Americans in retirement will become real. The government may not be able to do anything to help either since it will have to focus on maintaining power. Soup kitchens and bread lines may end up being the mainstay for those unable to work and without assets.
Is it worse than you think.
Subsistence Level Lifestyles Put Americans at Risk
76% of Americans Live Paycheck to Paycheck
This bodes badly for the future as we flood the country with more low wage competition. The pressures on families to take government subsidies has already increased food stamp and disability claim levels to unbelievable records. If the printing presses ever stop doling out the free goodies you will have an unraveling of the social contract, or what little remains of it. When the banks no longer let you get to your small amount of savings there and your paychecks can only be spent with a debit card you will see anger rise among the proles. What will happen we cannot know, but we know that the government has no problem declaring martial law like they did in Boston while looking for one lame terrorist.
The Government is now Flailing
IRS sends 2706 refunds to one back account for illegal aliens.
For such a level of incompetence you would think this would have to be intentional, but I'm not sure. It is quite possible that the management of such a vast agency has simply gone beyond the ability of such a complex system to sustain operation without major mistakes. This could have been caught by an 8th grade class doing the audits. No one will go to jail and the money has probably gone back to Mexico along with the scam operation until it comes back for more. I thought the IRS had time to give anal exams to every TEA Party group it could find and if true it appears they really let everything else slide.
The Fed Prints Money and We Lose Wealth
It prints it until it implodes.
Anyone that thinks this can go on forever is smoking the good stuff. It has to end and end badly. Where will you be when this happens? If you have a savings account full of dollars represented by digits on a piece of paper you may find that your digits will be shortened considerably when the bail ins occur. The banks can now take your money to make themselves whole. I'd focus on hard assets if I were you.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Sitrep: EMP Threat, SARS Like Virus, States Rebel Against the Feds
EMP Threat
Lloyds of London: NY to DC lights out for 2 years from EMP Event
Get that 2 years window into your mind and remember the last time power was down for 2 hours and how you felt trapped and normal life was at an end. Imagine no water coming from the faucets since the water system is powered by electric pumps, no gas for the furnace that is electrically controlled, and no food deliveries or gasoline to run the car you have that might not start anyways. This could mean a die off in the order of millions. Who knows, but the threat clearly exists.
Pandemic Threat
SARS like Virus from Saudi Arabia is more deadly than SARS
WHO has emergency meeting to halt the spread of the new virus.
Needless to say, the open borders crowd along with the airline industry that happily brings everyone overnight to any location in the world is a perfect situation for the fast travel of a deadly virus.
Nullification of Federal Laws by States
Federal Nullification by states is increasing.
Many states have had enough of the Federal monster that pushes it's weight around with dictates from little bureaucrats from distant D.C. and the are beginning to do something about it. One thing the article didn't clearly indicate is that the first area of nullification that was done with tacit approval from the Federal Government is the sanctuary states and cities for illegals. That is just another example of why the media is not to be trusted when it comes to reporting the news and AP is right there at the front of this poor job at reporting the truth rather than a sanitized version of it.
Lloyds of London: NY to DC lights out for 2 years from EMP Event
Get that 2 years window into your mind and remember the last time power was down for 2 hours and how you felt trapped and normal life was at an end. Imagine no water coming from the faucets since the water system is powered by electric pumps, no gas for the furnace that is electrically controlled, and no food deliveries or gasoline to run the car you have that might not start anyways. This could mean a die off in the order of millions. Who knows, but the threat clearly exists.
Pandemic Threat
SARS like Virus from Saudi Arabia is more deadly than SARS
WHO has emergency meeting to halt the spread of the new virus.
Needless to say, the open borders crowd along with the airline industry that happily brings everyone overnight to any location in the world is a perfect situation for the fast travel of a deadly virus.
Nullification of Federal Laws by States
Federal Nullification by states is increasing.
Many states have had enough of the Federal monster that pushes it's weight around with dictates from little bureaucrats from distant D.C. and the are beginning to do something about it. One thing the article didn't clearly indicate is that the first area of nullification that was done with tacit approval from the Federal Government is the sanctuary states and cities for illegals. That is just another example of why the media is not to be trusted when it comes to reporting the news and AP is right there at the front of this poor job at reporting the truth rather than a sanitized version of it.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Sitrep: Police State USA
Rise of the Warrior Cop
Even counties in rural areas have their own swat teams and with that comes the mindset that going military is okay when it comes to law enforcement. Many innocent civilians/citizens have been killed on botched raids. To undo this the main focus should be to end the federal spigot of cash flowing to local departments.
Police Demand to Occupy a Home - Violating 3rd Amendment
This is really bad.
Woman Jailed for buying a case of bottled water
This is what it has come to. The police are out of control and the media in the US is compliant. We have to get these stories from British Newspapers and thank God for them.
Media and Entertainment is 95% Liberal
This helps explain to you why the slant is always pro big Government.
Russian Troops to Work Security at Events in USA
This is ominous. The Administration seems to have no problem with foreign troops operating on US soil. Most Americans do have a problem with it which then begs the question as to why we don't hear screaming from congress.
FBI means of interviewing - great video.
Pay attention to this one so that if the day ever comes that you get a visit you will at least be informed on what they have planned for you.
Facial recognition in state license databases is used for many law enforcement purposes.
So we worry about DNA and fingerprints taken without justification but facial data patterns known as biometrics are turning out to be much more useful for random identity searches supposedly to help solve crimes and stop identity theft.
Far left students have no problem with spying on those they disagree with.
This should give you a sense of the direction we are going as students are indoctrinated into the belief that crushing the opposition is okay to do by any means necessary.
8th grade student threatened with 1 year of jail for not removing his NRA T shirt.
Do as you are told even if it violates your rights to speech and if you don't we will have the police threaten you and arrest you. This comes across as wrong.
President defends NSA spying.
No big deal here. We read everything you write and send by email. We keep track of your phone calls and even record the content for future use. This is 1984 finally come true.
The Tea Party was the target of the IRS.
Intimidation, coercion, threats, and insane levels of document compliance that involved snooping and passing around information regarding things like what you said in prayers tells us that the Rubicon has been crossed. This is criminal and yet no one is looking to go to jail at this point. These people were attacked for their ideas and beliefs.
Why Democrats Love to Spy.
We know Republicans do since that is what Democrats told us for the 8 years of G. W. Bush. Now we know this was simply a campaign tool since they are enamored with the ability to spy on Americans for political gain. This ends badly for all of us.
Law Enforcement wants a kill switch for smart phones.
This is for our own benefit is what they tell us. I can see opportunity for abuse by the authorities.
FBI says we watch with drones.
And here we got worked up when they talked about the idea of doing it. It is already in place.
The Future in the USA if we keep getting Supreme Court Violations of the Constitution.
The French don't like the truth or free speech. Le Pen is facing prosecution for daring to say something not politically correct.
Escaping Zip ties
Here is a video on something you might face in the ongoing police state activity we are witnessing. If you need to escape often the first thing is to get your hands free.
Even counties in rural areas have their own swat teams and with that comes the mindset that going military is okay when it comes to law enforcement. Many innocent civilians/citizens have been killed on botched raids. To undo this the main focus should be to end the federal spigot of cash flowing to local departments.
Police Demand to Occupy a Home - Violating 3rd Amendment
This is really bad.
Woman Jailed for buying a case of bottled water
This is what it has come to. The police are out of control and the media in the US is compliant. We have to get these stories from British Newspapers and thank God for them.
Media and Entertainment is 95% Liberal
This helps explain to you why the slant is always pro big Government.
Russian Troops to Work Security at Events in USA
This is ominous. The Administration seems to have no problem with foreign troops operating on US soil. Most Americans do have a problem with it which then begs the question as to why we don't hear screaming from congress.
FBI means of interviewing - great video.
Pay attention to this one so that if the day ever comes that you get a visit you will at least be informed on what they have planned for you.
Facial recognition in state license databases is used for many law enforcement purposes.
So we worry about DNA and fingerprints taken without justification but facial data patterns known as biometrics are turning out to be much more useful for random identity searches supposedly to help solve crimes and stop identity theft.
Far left students have no problem with spying on those they disagree with.
This should give you a sense of the direction we are going as students are indoctrinated into the belief that crushing the opposition is okay to do by any means necessary.
8th grade student threatened with 1 year of jail for not removing his NRA T shirt.
Do as you are told even if it violates your rights to speech and if you don't we will have the police threaten you and arrest you. This comes across as wrong.
President defends NSA spying.
No big deal here. We read everything you write and send by email. We keep track of your phone calls and even record the content for future use. This is 1984 finally come true.
The Tea Party was the target of the IRS.
Intimidation, coercion, threats, and insane levels of document compliance that involved snooping and passing around information regarding things like what you said in prayers tells us that the Rubicon has been crossed. This is criminal and yet no one is looking to go to jail at this point. These people were attacked for their ideas and beliefs.
Why Democrats Love to Spy.
We know Republicans do since that is what Democrats told us for the 8 years of G. W. Bush. Now we know this was simply a campaign tool since they are enamored with the ability to spy on Americans for political gain. This ends badly for all of us.
Law Enforcement wants a kill switch for smart phones.
This is for our own benefit is what they tell us. I can see opportunity for abuse by the authorities.
FBI says we watch with drones.
And here we got worked up when they talked about the idea of doing it. It is already in place.
The Future in the USA if we keep getting Supreme Court Violations of the Constitution.
The French don't like the truth or free speech. Le Pen is facing prosecution for daring to say something not politically correct.
Escaping Zip ties
Here is a video on something you might face in the ongoing police state activity we are witnessing. If you need to escape often the first thing is to get your hands free.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Ammo and Gun Update - Price Drops on .22 LR and 5.56 - M4 Rifles Back in Stock
East Coast Gun Show Pricing Seen Today 6/16/2013
Ammo
.22 Long Rifle Bricks of 500 Rds - $75 down from $100
5.56 Green tip Federal in ammo can of 400 rounds - $299 down from $399
5.45 x 39 mm AK74 surplus corrosive Russian Case of 2160 - $399 - Was unavailable for months
Internet Price for the items is approximately the same. Buds
5.45 x 39 mm AK74 New Russian - non corrosive - 750 rounds - $220 - Was unavailable for months. Gunbot Prices
7.62x39 AK ammo - Wolf 500 rounds HP - non corrosive - $160
.38 Special Hornady FTX 25 rds $25 up from $17 in December 2012 but now available where it wasn't two months ago.
Tokarev Pistol
7.62 x 25 corrosive available again - Romanian - .30 per round - small amounts.
7.62 x 25 non-corrosive available again - .80 to $1 per round - boxes of 50
Cheaper online
9x18 Makarov - 50 rounds FMJ imported $30 - this is the risk of only having imported ammo options for a caliber though there is domestic production it has never been cheap - 8 months ago you could find this online for $10 a box.
Luger/Nato
9mm (9x19) Still hard to find. No pricing found. Gunbot pricing online shows nothing below .35 per round and most are over .50 and up much of the defensive ammo reaching over a dollar fifty. This is a sad state of affairs for the most popular handgun round. This is ugly.
40 S&W - Available - Pricing varied but averaged .60 per round FMJ and $1.25 + for defensive rounds.
.308 Match - Prices are ridiculous - $1.45 - $2 per round
No .308 Surplus seen
BTW - Zinc Coated BB shortage seen at some Wally World Locations. The trickle down effect of ammo shortages has put many more users into using BB guns and shortages have begun. Co2 cartridges are also thinning out in availability.
Guns
M4 Variant weapons are back in stock with heavy availability. Prices are still up but have come down considerably from their highs.
Colt Model 6920 current $1395. In December prices for this model were $1250 and in February and March prices were up to $2500 at online auctions.
Other M4 variants were down in price from highs. Most are just around $900 - $1000 unless pimped up with ninja gear. Mags for these are still rare and quality is missing. I saw no Pmags.
Bennelli HK Shogun used $900
WASR AK 7.62 x 39 $899 prices are down from the $1200 highs in February but still up $300 from November 2012.
Romanian Folders 7.62 x 39 new $950.
Mini 14 Stainless Police turn in seen for $899. These had dried up completely right after the panic and prices online were over $1200 to more than $1500 new. 20 rounds mags used for $30
Shotguns in bulk were seen and pricing was only slightly higher than previously. Still a good deal.
Sig P229 Police turn in w/two mags seen in quantity for $475.
Glocks are back. All models are back in stock after a long shortage due to demand. Prices were back to normal. Glock 19 Gen 3 new $550.
No HK Pistols anywhere to be found. Fears of a import ban must have these in high demand.
Magazines
HK P30 magazines only found online - none at shows though some gun shops have shown them recently. Local gun shop pricing around $50 per mag. Online pricing running $34-$40 but usually out of stock and if available usually a limit of two is set to sell to more customers. Online auction pricing is down from $110 per mag to $80-90 for 9mm and $60-70 for .40 S&W.
Glock Mags - back in business at shows and online though 9mm still has some shortages and unavailability. Many of the mags seen online are the 10 round versions. Botach Pricing at shows still high at $40 each while online around $30 though again you may see an out of stock listing next to that sweet price. I prefer to pay around $22-25.
Springfield Armory XD Mags - there has been no shortage and therefore minimal price increases. They must have had rail cars of that stuff here before the panic set in because I never saw a shortage for them no matter where I went. So if you were looking for a gun and to be able to get magazines that may have been the proper choice two or three months ago.
Sig Sauer - Prices were way up for P229 mags $95 each and are still not available in quantity. If you have a new P229 E2 I have found you can use an E2 P226 mag in place. It locks in and works but of course doesn't fit flush. Wait and you will probably see P229 again soon. P226 mags are plentiful and after market are cheap and readily available. P238 are pricey and probably will stay that way. You can use Colt Mustang replacement aftermarket mags but don't rely on them for defense since I have seen issues with the Sigs regarding feeding.
Makarov - $20 each. They are now collectible and only get surplus since I would not trust after market at this point.
CZ 52 - $25-35 each if found. Buy them online if you can find them.
Tokarev Pistol - Online Polish $14-20 and hard to find anywhere else.
AR15 - Pmags are back at old prices online but there were none at a local gun show. Other surplus and no name brands are out there at slightly elevated prices. I'll keep an eye out. For other options check out.
Brownells
Impact Guns
AIM Surplus
Midway
AK74 - Pay what you have to if you need them and get Russian or East German if you have a choice. Prices were $50 each and may be down slightly now. Check out Atlantic.
AK47 - Still not a massive resupply of them though I expect polymer will begin to show up again at increased prices closer to $20 each versus the $12-18 before. Tapco is back in stock at Midway.
CZ75 - availability online is good and pricing is back to normal from what I can see. Check out Midway.
Ammo
.22 Long Rifle Bricks of 500 Rds - $75 down from $100
5.56 Green tip Federal in ammo can of 400 rounds - $299 down from $399
5.45 x 39 mm AK74 surplus corrosive Russian Case of 2160 - $399 - Was unavailable for months
Internet Price for the items is approximately the same. Buds
5.45 x 39 mm AK74 New Russian - non corrosive - 750 rounds - $220 - Was unavailable for months. Gunbot Prices
7.62x39 AK ammo - Wolf 500 rounds HP - non corrosive - $160
.38 Special Hornady FTX 25 rds $25 up from $17 in December 2012 but now available where it wasn't two months ago.
Tokarev Pistol
7.62 x 25 corrosive available again - Romanian - .30 per round - small amounts.
7.62 x 25 non-corrosive available again - .80 to $1 per round - boxes of 50
Cheaper online
9x18 Makarov - 50 rounds FMJ imported $30 - this is the risk of only having imported ammo options for a caliber though there is domestic production it has never been cheap - 8 months ago you could find this online for $10 a box.
Luger/Nato
9mm (9x19) Still hard to find. No pricing found. Gunbot pricing online shows nothing below .35 per round and most are over .50 and up much of the defensive ammo reaching over a dollar fifty. This is a sad state of affairs for the most popular handgun round. This is ugly.
40 S&W - Available - Pricing varied but averaged .60 per round FMJ and $1.25 + for defensive rounds.
.308 Match - Prices are ridiculous - $1.45 - $2 per round
No .308 Surplus seen
BTW - Zinc Coated BB shortage seen at some Wally World Locations. The trickle down effect of ammo shortages has put many more users into using BB guns and shortages have begun. Co2 cartridges are also thinning out in availability.
Guns
M4 Variant weapons are back in stock with heavy availability. Prices are still up but have come down considerably from their highs.
Colt Model 6920 current $1395. In December prices for this model were $1250 and in February and March prices were up to $2500 at online auctions.
Other M4 variants were down in price from highs. Most are just around $900 - $1000 unless pimped up with ninja gear. Mags for these are still rare and quality is missing. I saw no Pmags.
Bennelli HK Shogun used $900
WASR AK 7.62 x 39 $899 prices are down from the $1200 highs in February but still up $300 from November 2012.
Romanian Folders 7.62 x 39 new $950.
Mini 14 Stainless Police turn in seen for $899. These had dried up completely right after the panic and prices online were over $1200 to more than $1500 new. 20 rounds mags used for $30
Shotguns in bulk were seen and pricing was only slightly higher than previously. Still a good deal.
Sig P229 Police turn in w/two mags seen in quantity for $475.
Glocks are back. All models are back in stock after a long shortage due to demand. Prices were back to normal. Glock 19 Gen 3 new $550.
No HK Pistols anywhere to be found. Fears of a import ban must have these in high demand.
Magazines
HK P30 magazines only found online - none at shows though some gun shops have shown them recently. Local gun shop pricing around $50 per mag. Online pricing running $34-$40 but usually out of stock and if available usually a limit of two is set to sell to more customers. Online auction pricing is down from $110 per mag to $80-90 for 9mm and $60-70 for .40 S&W.
Glock Mags - back in business at shows and online though 9mm still has some shortages and unavailability. Many of the mags seen online are the 10 round versions. Botach Pricing at shows still high at $40 each while online around $30 though again you may see an out of stock listing next to that sweet price. I prefer to pay around $22-25.
Springfield Armory XD Mags - there has been no shortage and therefore minimal price increases. They must have had rail cars of that stuff here before the panic set in because I never saw a shortage for them no matter where I went. So if you were looking for a gun and to be able to get magazines that may have been the proper choice two or three months ago.
Sig Sauer - Prices were way up for P229 mags $95 each and are still not available in quantity. If you have a new P229 E2 I have found you can use an E2 P226 mag in place. It locks in and works but of course doesn't fit flush. Wait and you will probably see P229 again soon. P226 mags are plentiful and after market are cheap and readily available. P238 are pricey and probably will stay that way. You can use Colt Mustang replacement aftermarket mags but don't rely on them for defense since I have seen issues with the Sigs regarding feeding.
Makarov - $20 each. They are now collectible and only get surplus since I would not trust after market at this point.
CZ 52 - $25-35 each if found. Buy them online if you can find them.
Tokarev Pistol - Online Polish $14-20 and hard to find anywhere else.
AR15 - Pmags are back at old prices online but there were none at a local gun show. Other surplus and no name brands are out there at slightly elevated prices. I'll keep an eye out. For other options check out.
Brownells
Impact Guns
AIM Surplus
Midway
AK74 - Pay what you have to if you need them and get Russian or East German if you have a choice. Prices were $50 each and may be down slightly now. Check out Atlantic.
AK47 - Still not a massive resupply of them though I expect polymer will begin to show up again at increased prices closer to $20 each versus the $12-18 before. Tapco is back in stock at Midway.
CZ75 - availability online is good and pricing is back to normal from what I can see. Check out Midway.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Ammo Shortage - Lessons to Learn
Buy Ammo for Long Term Storage
So, for those who never owned guns and those that owned them and only had a hundred rounds of ammo set aside, how are you feeling right now? You had warnings.
We could have to you so.
I'm not here to insult you since if I knew for sure that this ammo situation was going to occur like this I would have set aside a few hundred bricks of .22 so I could have sold them to you at $100 a pop. I didn't do that though I do have enough to support my shooting habit until things hopefully come back around. But what if they don't? Then we are all in a new uncharted environment when it comes to ammo pricing. Be sure of one thing. The market will provide the product but the price will be set according to the rules of supply and demand even if a black market forms to fill the void.
Back in 2008 there was a temporary shortage that eventually resulted in prices that eventually stabilized at double whatever you paid before that shortage. The prices never came down.
Ammo Shelf Life - The lie
Ammunition isn't like gasoline where you have a shelf life. No matter what the goons tell you about shelf life on ammo I am here to tell you it is BS. If you store it in a dry environment it will work if it wasn't garbage ammo to begin with. I forgot some ammo in an ammo can in the woods behind a shed after clearing it out to reorganize, and a decade later I found it when clearing out a junk pile where I had left it. Amazingly all the ammo worked despite cold, heat, etc. It all stayed dry too in the can with desiccant. Another time I had temporarily stored a few cans under a rotted out trailer and forgot to retrieve it for a decade and found the cans covered in water. Some of the ammo got wet because a can rusted through and I simply couldn't believe it but 5.56 green tip military grade ammo in there still worked. I expected a total loss. Out of a hundred rounds there were no failures and this was in water, ice, and heat. I don't know how long they were immersed but even a week would have been too much in my past understanding of ammo reliability. This is admittedly unusual and may be the result of lacquered primers and tight seating of the bullet but what can you say about this other than the canard that ammo gets old unless they mean past your lifetime.
Unprotected Storage
A friend of mine gave me a few boxes of .22 cartridges stored in his garage simply in the original paper boxes and it all worked. It had been there for over 20 years. I have a neighbor with the same story but his are over 40 years old and still work and his were in a very humid and damp environment. I think the lack of exposed primers combined with tight bullet seating of .22 rounds kept them well protected. Of course they looked old and had some signs of oxidation on the outside but all of the ones he tried worked. He's keeping most for another few decades since the rounds are now collectible as well as the boxes they came in. They were his dad's and he remembered those rounds when he was a kid and now he's in his late 50's. The .22 ammo will likely outlast him.
Old Surplus Ammo
I've fired 9mm corrosive from WW2 through some old guns and it lit every time. Sure you wouldn't want to risk your life on it, but storing ammo is a sound thing to do for the long term view of having enough to practice as well as for purposeful use. There is still WW1 and WW2 Mauser ammo that can be found on surplus tables and much of it still works. Don't buy it for that purpose but if you buy some Soviet Era 1950-80's ammo in tins you can almost be sure it will work. Don't take my word on it, but actually get some Mosin Nagant ammo in a tin from the past century and try it yourself. I have never had one fail to fire. Some will claim the powders are unstable and subject to overpressure and that may have some truth but I have never experienced it. I have heard that mercuric primers on commie rounds do get unstable but to me that means only they increase pressure but all have worked. I've never seen a round ignite without a firing pin causing it. Mercuric primer commie ammo is still the most durable and reliable ammo found so unless you don't like to clean guns after use I would consider that part of my supply. You don't have that option with an AR15 so I'm talking about AK designs and some pistols. Use good guns like military grade weapons and they will function and if they are built to WW2 standards they can handle most any problem except squibs.
Exceptions
On the other hand, I had some Chinese 9x18 that failed repeatedly and the only exposure it had was due to humidity exposure due to storage that I did not arrange. I had bought the ammo second hand and I could tell the boxes were tainted by mildew and moisture. In the end I suspect it was the crummy ammo that determined that it would fail. There was probably no primer protection on that batch and that seems to be a big issue. Look for lacquered primers as a way to insure your ammo survives oil and water exposure. I had other ammo from the same storage environment that lit every time. It was cruddy ammo that failed in this instance.
What to Learn
If things come back around I suggest you load up on ammo instead of gold, silver, and ninja gear. Store the ammo in moisture proof and preferably waterproof containers with desiccants inside. Military ammo cans are the best from my experience. Store the cans in a dry and secure place. (Remember my experience: Sitting in water on the ground in cold and heat it lasted a decade in an ammo can. If you put the ammo inside the can in Mylar storage bags with desiccants you may have protected them until the next century turns and your heirs open it.)
So, for those who never owned guns and those that owned them and only had a hundred rounds of ammo set aside, how are you feeling right now? You had warnings.
We could have to you so.
I'm not here to insult you since if I knew for sure that this ammo situation was going to occur like this I would have set aside a few hundred bricks of .22 so I could have sold them to you at $100 a pop. I didn't do that though I do have enough to support my shooting habit until things hopefully come back around. But what if they don't? Then we are all in a new uncharted environment when it comes to ammo pricing. Be sure of one thing. The market will provide the product but the price will be set according to the rules of supply and demand even if a black market forms to fill the void.
Back in 2008 there was a temporary shortage that eventually resulted in prices that eventually stabilized at double whatever you paid before that shortage. The prices never came down.
Ammo Shelf Life - The lie
Ammunition isn't like gasoline where you have a shelf life. No matter what the goons tell you about shelf life on ammo I am here to tell you it is BS. If you store it in a dry environment it will work if it wasn't garbage ammo to begin with. I forgot some ammo in an ammo can in the woods behind a shed after clearing it out to reorganize, and a decade later I found it when clearing out a junk pile where I had left it. Amazingly all the ammo worked despite cold, heat, etc. It all stayed dry too in the can with desiccant. Another time I had temporarily stored a few cans under a rotted out trailer and forgot to retrieve it for a decade and found the cans covered in water. Some of the ammo got wet because a can rusted through and I simply couldn't believe it but 5.56 green tip military grade ammo in there still worked. I expected a total loss. Out of a hundred rounds there were no failures and this was in water, ice, and heat. I don't know how long they were immersed but even a week would have been too much in my past understanding of ammo reliability. This is admittedly unusual and may be the result of lacquered primers and tight seating of the bullet but what can you say about this other than the canard that ammo gets old unless they mean past your lifetime.
Unprotected Storage
A friend of mine gave me a few boxes of .22 cartridges stored in his garage simply in the original paper boxes and it all worked. It had been there for over 20 years. I have a neighbor with the same story but his are over 40 years old and still work and his were in a very humid and damp environment. I think the lack of exposed primers combined with tight bullet seating of .22 rounds kept them well protected. Of course they looked old and had some signs of oxidation on the outside but all of the ones he tried worked. He's keeping most for another few decades since the rounds are now collectible as well as the boxes they came in. They were his dad's and he remembered those rounds when he was a kid and now he's in his late 50's. The .22 ammo will likely outlast him.
Old Surplus Ammo
I've fired 9mm corrosive from WW2 through some old guns and it lit every time. Sure you wouldn't want to risk your life on it, but storing ammo is a sound thing to do for the long term view of having enough to practice as well as for purposeful use. There is still WW1 and WW2 Mauser ammo that can be found on surplus tables and much of it still works. Don't buy it for that purpose but if you buy some Soviet Era 1950-80's ammo in tins you can almost be sure it will work. Don't take my word on it, but actually get some Mosin Nagant ammo in a tin from the past century and try it yourself. I have never had one fail to fire. Some will claim the powders are unstable and subject to overpressure and that may have some truth but I have never experienced it. I have heard that mercuric primers on commie rounds do get unstable but to me that means only they increase pressure but all have worked. I've never seen a round ignite without a firing pin causing it. Mercuric primer commie ammo is still the most durable and reliable ammo found so unless you don't like to clean guns after use I would consider that part of my supply. You don't have that option with an AR15 so I'm talking about AK designs and some pistols. Use good guns like military grade weapons and they will function and if they are built to WW2 standards they can handle most any problem except squibs.
Exceptions
On the other hand, I had some Chinese 9x18 that failed repeatedly and the only exposure it had was due to humidity exposure due to storage that I did not arrange. I had bought the ammo second hand and I could tell the boxes were tainted by mildew and moisture. In the end I suspect it was the crummy ammo that determined that it would fail. There was probably no primer protection on that batch and that seems to be a big issue. Look for lacquered primers as a way to insure your ammo survives oil and water exposure. I had other ammo from the same storage environment that lit every time. It was cruddy ammo that failed in this instance.
What to Learn
If things come back around I suggest you load up on ammo instead of gold, silver, and ninja gear. Store the ammo in moisture proof and preferably waterproof containers with desiccants inside. Military ammo cans are the best from my experience. Store the cans in a dry and secure place. (Remember my experience: Sitting in water on the ground in cold and heat it lasted a decade in an ammo can. If you put the ammo inside the can in Mylar storage bags with desiccants you may have protected them until the next century turns and your heirs open it.)
Sitrep: The ChinaThreat
China Endgame: The Yuan Dynasty
Recent headlines include.
China Encircles the USA by arming neighbors in hemisphere.
Pentagon aircraft, missile defense are target of Chinese cyber threat.
The Chicoms have also made continuous efforts to take our currency down and remove it from reserve status. We have ourselves to blame for this but it still is moving along quite well as they work to put others into trading positions that remove the dollar from the equation.
China attempts to remove the dollar from reserve currency and international supremacy.
Things your can do to protect yourself and the country.
Buy solar panels and get yourself off grid to protect against the Chinese cyber threat and hackers.
The risk posed against our grid is part of their plan to have a blackmail card in the event of a Taiwan incident. Unfortunately even many solar panels are made there. I'd rather pay Japan or Taiwan if I can't get a good one from the USA. Buy from competitors of China when you can.
Never get home construction products from China if you want to be sure of the health safety associated with them. Ask Florida home owners about their drywall problems.
Lead poisoning from Chinese products usually a result of paint.
Buy lead test swabs to check products if you don't know their origin. Save yourself the worry and buy from other countries when possible. Go USA if at all possible since here the legal worries alone reduce the risk a manufacturer will put lead in the products.
Think of China like we once viewed the Soviets. Would you have done anything to support their growth or success back then. We can individually work to limit our individual risk by not buying their products and by limiting our exposure to currency manipulations by owning hard assets. At this point I wouldn't even buy guns or ammunition from them if imported recently. Stick with Europe, South America, and others allied with us in Asia.
The yuan is the base denomination of the Chinese currency and also happens to be the name of the Dynasty once jointly ruled by the Mongols and China. It rises again.
China works on plans for centuries, decades, and then years. They take the long term view according to history. So forty years after Nixon they almost have us down on our knees and they are planning to neutralize our influence first in their sphere and then to become the predominant military and economic power in the world. We have done what we can to help them along by electing president after president who wouldn't stop shipping our industry and technology over there and to allow many high technology transfers occur that aid their industry and military. It has brought us to the point where they may pass us within a few years in terms of economic output. Don't be confused by such terms as per capita wealth and standard of living. Those things don't matter in the sphere of global reach and strength since they can always add more labor to push us down further in the competitive realm. We are at risk.
Recent headlines include.
China Encircles the USA by arming neighbors in hemisphere.
Pentagon aircraft, missile defense are target of Chinese cyber threat.
The Chicoms have also made continuous efforts to take our currency down and remove it from reserve status. We have ourselves to blame for this but it still is moving along quite well as they work to put others into trading positions that remove the dollar from the equation.
China attempts to remove the dollar from reserve currency and international supremacy.
Things your can do to protect yourself and the country.
Buy solar panels and get yourself off grid to protect against the Chinese cyber threat and hackers.
The risk posed against our grid is part of their plan to have a blackmail card in the event of a Taiwan incident. Unfortunately even many solar panels are made there. I'd rather pay Japan or Taiwan if I can't get a good one from the USA. Buy from competitors of China when you can.
Never get home construction products from China if you want to be sure of the health safety associated with them. Ask Florida home owners about their drywall problems.
Lead poisoning from Chinese products usually a result of paint.
Buy lead test swabs to check products if you don't know their origin. Save yourself the worry and buy from other countries when possible. Go USA if at all possible since here the legal worries alone reduce the risk a manufacturer will put lead in the products.
Think of China like we once viewed the Soviets. Would you have done anything to support their growth or success back then. We can individually work to limit our individual risk by not buying their products and by limiting our exposure to currency manipulations by owning hard assets. At this point I wouldn't even buy guns or ammunition from them if imported recently. Stick with Europe, South America, and others allied with us in Asia.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Why Big Government is Attractive - The Land of the Free no more.
Strong Men Lean Conservative While Feminine Men Prefer Big Government - Marxism
We have way too many soft men who then act as if they want a mommie government. Well, now they have one with a Big Sister and Big Brother to go along with it. These things that come with big government are the sources of domination and control that will eventually lead to a totalitarian state. Many would argue that we have already arrived. The executive branch calls all this nothing but modest encroachments.
Federal snooping has gone to heights even Orwell couldn't envision. They want to know our prayers.
They can watch you as you type. Hi guys there at NSA. Enjoy Though I don't enjoy this. It is a sad day to watch us lose our freedoms simply because we have left our borders open and flooded the country with tens of millions of potential enemies and have no way to find them or track them other than to do this to all of us. How about we shut the borders and evict the squatters that don't belong here and leave us to our freedoms.
It goes down to the state level too. NY has passed a law to make it a felony to harass a police officer and you know that will be abused.
If you are comfortable with this level of intrusion and Federal power then you are exactly what a good totalitarian state wants. Sheep.
How does this impinge on your preparedness? Trust no one from the government and when you hear a public announcement infer the opposite. All communications you make, blog posts, and comments online are for future use at your tribunal if we ever get to the end run of this Coup d'Etat by the executive branch. All purchases you make online or by phone are part of your permanent record including all mail to and from your address. Did you know the postal service scans all mail front and back and keeps a copy.
We have way too many soft men who then act as if they want a mommie government. Well, now they have one with a Big Sister and Big Brother to go along with it. These things that come with big government are the sources of domination and control that will eventually lead to a totalitarian state. Many would argue that we have already arrived. The executive branch calls all this nothing but modest encroachments.
Federal snooping has gone to heights even Orwell couldn't envision. They want to know our prayers.
They can watch you as you type. Hi guys there at NSA. Enjoy Though I don't enjoy this. It is a sad day to watch us lose our freedoms simply because we have left our borders open and flooded the country with tens of millions of potential enemies and have no way to find them or track them other than to do this to all of us. How about we shut the borders and evict the squatters that don't belong here and leave us to our freedoms.
It goes down to the state level too. NY has passed a law to make it a felony to harass a police officer and you know that will be abused.
If you are comfortable with this level of intrusion and Federal power then you are exactly what a good totalitarian state wants. Sheep.
How does this impinge on your preparedness? Trust no one from the government and when you hear a public announcement infer the opposite. All communications you make, blog posts, and comments online are for future use at your tribunal if we ever get to the end run of this Coup d'Etat by the executive branch. All purchases you make online or by phone are part of your permanent record including all mail to and from your address. Did you know the postal service scans all mail front and back and keeps a copy.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Sitrep: USA Free Speech Gone, Terror Threats, Invasion USA
In the USA - Speech must be controlled.
If you haven't noticed it is usually open season on Christians in comedy, movies, and by the talking heads. Somehow Islam isn't a target. Now the Justice Dept. has deemed negative speech about Islam as a possible civil rights violation. There goes the first amendment. We expect this in countries like Germany, France, or Canada, but I have to say this is an amazing step for a branch of government to take regarding items on our bill of rights.
DNA Samples Okay for Arrests - Courtesy of the Supreme Court
The supremes give the thumbs up for DNA swabs after arrests and of course the problem is that an arrest can be done for anything. The problem with DNA that I see is that it remains in place too long and can be relocated by accident or design. Aside from that, the other concern is that any government database with this kind of information can be misused. I see a day when the Affordable Health Act will require it so that you can be rated for your potential for depression, anger management, disease, or criminality. Then this information could be used to limit your rights to gun ownership or the type of jobs you might qualify to do.
Terror Threats to Hometown USA
Now Al Qaeda says that regular attacks on the USA are available to anyone and that they will occur with regularity.
Amnesty for Illegals
Bill to Pass Senate by July 4th. Let us hope not as this could mean up to 60 million future additions to the country due to chain migration with family reunification. This is the way to give up your sovereignty and control over the fate of the country. 80% of those given amnesty will be DOA, Democrat on arrival. I wonder if they will require a DNA test for illegals since of course, hey they're illegal. Illegals = not legal = crime = which should equal arrest = which should mean DNA swab. I bet they won't.
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