Police State Update

MRAP goes to small Iowa town.
More overkill for small town Amerika. 

Federal Agencies Loaded with Tactical Units
This bodes badly for liberty and cannot be justified.  Each fiefdom wants to have an armed component to increase their power and threat they pose to potential targets.  It works for them, but not us.

Police in Utah Don't Play.
This is a reminder that any interaction with the police can be your last or it can be a long ordeal as this story demonstrates.  I am reminded how it is best to avoid calling the police unless absolutely necessary.

Police mum about cell tracking.
They are watching aren't they.  
Here is the thing.  If they won't tell you about it that means they are using the hell out of it and probably using it for developing enough of a case to then create probable cause to actually intercept calls.  You know, get the information first illegally in order to find a legal justification for getting the information.  Ahhhh, the slippery slope on the way to the office of Pre-crime.

Denninger makes a good case for no revolution in response to this type of police state tyranny.
If some of the groups that recommend armed rebellion think that we will end up with a country and not a dictatorship then they should look at the odds of it ending up favorably.  The Atlas Shrugged approach recommended by Denninger has merit in that it is non-violent and it reduces the meal of the parasitic beast known as Big Government.  Go that route first before taking up arms.  I hope to reserve my arms for self defense.

Jogger in Liberal Austin Arrested for not giving her name.
Though she probably votes for the same people that are ramping up the police state it does seem over the top to arrest her for not giving a name prior to the arrest.  One thing against her is that she jogs with headphones on which is stupid in my book.  It will get you run over, mugged, or in this case grabbed by the cops.

Even Nader falls out of love with the President.
The problem is that all of these guys were in before they were out when it comes to supporting far left totalitarian activities.  For one person, our president, to be able to decide that using a drone to kill an American citizen it becomes clear they are reaching the status of unchecked power.

Puppycide
I've seen enough videos of police shooting dogs to know that this is out of control.

Pellet Rifles for Survival - .22 ammo is now 22 cents too

If the ammo shortage hasn't convinced you that hoarding ammo makes sense then you clearly aren't planning for eventualities.  Shortages are part of the landscape if you have lived through any of the supply disruptions that occur throughout history.  If it isn't a gas shortage, it's a crop failure, or in our current environment the non existence of .22 long rifle ammo at nearly any price.  Who would have thought we'd see .22 also stand for the price of the ammo.

When to Hoard

The problem with hoarding during a shortage is that you pay too much to do so even if you can somehow obtain what it is you are trying to find and accumulate you'll feel stupid later if the prices comes back down to earth.  The best time to stack deep with a particular necessity is when it is readily available at low cost.  When it comes to shooting right now the only thing that matches that description are pellets.  Right now you can still buy pellets a Wally World for $3 per 250 pellets in .177 caliber.  You can pay much more for higher end pellets but these will get you started and will do the job of taking down small game and pests.

Choosing a Rifle

The assortment is wide when it comes to brands and models for pellet rifles.  4 Reasons to own a pellet rifle.

The Best Air Rifle

 Crosman

 I've owned Crosman muli-pump rifles since I was a child and have found them to be reliable and flexible.  The standard 760 Pumpmaster has been around forever it seems and it still serves well for a target shooter with pellets and plinking as a BB gun.  Crosman also has a break barrel single shot pellet rifle called the Phantom that sells for around $85 that works well and sends pellets out at about 1000fps.

Benjamin Trail NP Air Rifle Combo - .22 cal
This is a great airgun for very low noise practice and hunting.  You can charge it with one break of the barrel and leave it charged for extended periods while hunting unlike springer models.  The weight is the only issue in regards to hunting but if you want to solve that just get a multi-pump air rifle.

  Consider Airsoft

I'm not an airsoft user because I can shoot BB guns where I live without worry and I do not currently have friends that want to try close combat training in this fashion.  I used to use paintball for that and found it an excellent way to train.

Whatever you do, try to make live ammo usage only a part of your overall self defense training program as it will save you lots of money and the other means of training add new dimensions to your skill set.

Paintball

When used as a component of close combat training paintball can be useful to develop certain skills.  One of the first skills you can improve is your willingness to drop the hammer on an opponent especially when they are trying to take you out.  Movement to concealment is something else this helps to develop but you have to remind yourself that a bush is not cover when it comes to lead even though it may be for paintball.  One thing paintball will do is teach you not to stand out in the open and engage the enemy since you will likely be hit.

Can Paintball make you a better soldier.  An alternate opinion from someone with no military background suggests that paintball adds little to skill and training for combat.
I disagree since there are skills for close combat that can only be learned by doing or simulation which is why the military used blanks and eventually laser annunciation devices to simulate getting hit.  Paintball or airsoft can add the physical realism at a lower cost than laser when it comes to very close range fighting.

Check out some bulletin board discussion on this.

Good Reading When the Grid Goes down

Here is a compilation of reading ideas for the day the grid goes down and no TV or Internet is there to fill your time.

Survival Books Recommended by Survivalblog.com 

Survival Books Recommended by TheSurvivalistblog.net

Survival Reading Recommended by M.D. Creekmore on  LewRockwell.com

F. Scott Fitzgerald recommends his 40 books to read.

Mark Twain Recommends 10 books.

I'll add my own list later.  For a start though, I'd visit some yard sales and buy every Western novel you can find and add to that any other type of pulp fiction you like.  Reading only how to books gets really boring and fantasy is a good way to cope with high stress.  You can usually get paperback novels for a quarter or less at yard sales.

Combat Skills and Technology

I've composed a list of links to articles that are quite useful in your training and knowledge of firearms and combat skills and technology.  Check them out at your leisure.

Here is a great into treatise on the use of the combat rifle.

Training film for WW2 Operatives
Interesting 

Part 2 of fundamentals of rifle craft.

Dry Fire Training  

Dry Fire Training
This method uses a spent casing on top of the weapon to improve your balance and steadiness when  firing.


Do not use warning shots.  They are a free arrest for the police.

Concealed 9mm Handguns 

Handgun Training Drills

Holographic Sight Guide

AR15 - The Justification for Owning One for Self Defense 

Pistol Training Ideas - Improve your pistolcraft.

Mosby on Defensive Sidearms. 

Carrying Your Gear by Max Velocity. 

Knob Creek Shootout Video and introduction by weaponsman

Shotgun Stops a Home Invasion 

Polymer Handguns do have their limits as this HK P2000 found. 

Dominant eye training and testing 

Light recoiling handguns for recoil sensitive handicapped shooters. 

M14 Info for those with an M1A this will be helpful and instructive. 

Super Snipers - High Technology Rifle makes long distance shooters out of unskilled shooters. 

Designated Marksman, the hows, wherefore, and equipment. 

Cavity Free Combat Gum 

Gun made in India for women named after a rape victim 

Top 10 Firearms technology for 2013

Pocket .380 Pistols

.22 Mag and .17 HMR Derringer 


Walther to offer a new concealed carry weapon.
The CCP is an interesting based on the information in this article.  Anything that improves accuracy and reduces recoil is a welcome addition for a pocket pistol.

HK comes out with a dud.  G36 

Handgun Training - excellent.

Improving your handgun skills.


 

Propaganda Replaces News in USA

 
"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize." Voltaire

Reading news articles originating in the USA or those meant for consumption here will require a constant effort on your part to truly discern the truth from the lie, or as Goebbels would say, "The Big Lie."  He knew that if you were brazen enough and repeated the Big Lie often enough your average minimally engaged intellect will start going along with it.  It is just easier.

The most recent example is the government shutdown and the threat of a debt default.  You could hear the President repeat often and regularly that the problem was a congress that shut down the government like a bunch of thugs or terrorists that demanded what they wanted while holding the government and American people  hostage.

In this example you had an official, the President, unwilling to negotiate with the 535 members of the Congress that is charged with controlling spending.  They are responsible for being responsible and thus should have the heavy hand in managing the financial affairs of the country.  Before it was over many things were said and many stories were reported.  In the balance, most of the stories reported by the news media went along with the propaganda coming from the White House and the U.S. Senate that the only party not dealing honestly was the House of Representatives. Here are some examples of the forgone conclusion reached by the  media while carrying the water for their ostensible leaders in the left wing of politics.

China and Japan want a new currency to avoid the recent problems caused by Congress.
This story doesn't even include the President and his party as one of the problems.  The profligate spending of the progressive/left wing side has a big hand in this along with the arbitrary actions of the executive branch when it comes to enforcing laws.  The AHCA waivers given to supporting groups is a great example.  When you read an article you should think for yourself to see if major facts are omitted to gain sway for one opinion that is being pushed.  This article does so.   It simply reinforces the lies put out there daily by the mainstream media that has become a government mouthpiece.

Racial Crimes

If you pay attention to the mainstream news in the USA you'd think whites were monsters and minority groups were just victims.  Here is an example.

Duke Lacrosse Rape Accuser Story Shows Bias  - 3 stories of her murder conviction versus hundreds of stories on her rape accusation. 

TEA Party story
NYT Story about TEA Party classifies them as far right and talks as if establishment Republicans are already right wing and we know that is hardly the case.  Of course far left would never be used to describe almost any Democrats since they also happen to match the political bias of the average times reporter and columnist.  

Reporter is targeted by so called watch dog group after she follows stories not good for the administration.

Ammo Shortage Update

2014 is predicted to be another year of high demand for ammo.

Have you been to the gun range lately, or tried getting ammo at Wally World?  I have and prices are inching up again and availability seems to have tightened again.  It makes one wonder if it coincides with huge  orders for ammo for DHS, Postal Service, IRS, and a huge assortment of alphabet soup agencies that are somehow needing massive amounts of ammo.  I think it is a twofer for them.  Lay aside lots of ammo for citizen suppression and reduce availability to the public.  Win Win for gun control nuts.

A few ideas for living in hard times.

The Alpha Strategy for surviving inflation.
This method of buying commodities will help you financially survive high inflation.

Pioneer Skills
They may come in handy.

Cheap Home - shipping container 
A room is a room and add that to location, location, location.

Don't Walk Among Elephants
Take this as a metaphor for avoiding situations that will get you stepped on.

Opening canned food without an opener video
Add this to your list of skills.  I never would have thought of it.

Low cost Temporary Shelter for living or storage
More ways to create space at low cost.

How about a survival cave.

High Intensity Interval Training
Staying fit may mean staying alive.

Vehicles you can live in.
Don't laugh please.  I've done it before and may end up doing it again.  They are OPSEC reasons to own a car, truck, or van you can live in at least when traveling.  It never hurts to have enough room to lay down and stretch.

According to an expert, fats are where it is at.  As part of a study an expert claims that high carb low fat diets increase the risk of dementia drastically, "what grain is doing to your brain."
Great huh.  For decades they told us that carbs were the way to go when it came to preventing heart disease as compared to fats.  Yes, we also heard that protein was good too but most of the foods out there ended up high carb due to their fat free status.

The Captain's Journal gives you a good overview of how preppers take the wrong approach and often waste money on based on fear tactics of advertisers.  I agree with his view which is to defend yourself and your family first and then focus on the basics.  Preparing for rare events falls out of this purview.