How will the lead ammo ban affect you?

In October of 2013 the state of California passed a ban on hunting with lead ammunition http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/lead-free/ . While more states are looking at the same alternative to traditional hunting, I am looking for ammunition alternatives myself. Not everyone has a friend that works overnight in the Sporting Goods dept at the local big box retailer that can text them in the middle of the night to let them know that they got in 6 boxes of .380 (or whatever).

The Washington Times reported that the only smelter left in the U.S. that produced lead for ammunition closing will have absolutely no effect on the availability or cost of ammunition http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/2/obamas-epa-smelter-closing-will-not-affect-ammunit/?page=all . Most major ammunition manufacturers began making "green" ammo by 2008 when the lead ammo debates intensified. If you do a cost comparison between the two, non-lead ammo is not the same cost as traditional lead ammo.

It makes me wonder if the $11 core charge on a car battery is worth it, or is that something that I should save along with the lead I pick out of the hillside at the shooting range. I have been saving my brass for years. Why not save the lead as well? Many people are making their own bullets http://www.ehow.com/how_2212846_make-ammunition.html and have been for some time. As a child I can remember my father casting .54 caliber balls for his muzzleloader.

As more states are looking at alternatives to lead bullets I will keep collecting lead (and storing it safely) for my personal use. http://ehs.whoi.edu/ehs/occsafety/leadweightsafety.pdf . If it gets to the point where you need to make your own bullets, it will be too late to start collecting lead.

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Prepping Mistakes: Part 2 of 5

Buying whats hot can undermine your strategy

Prepping is hot right now. And, it's smart.

I don't want to make the wrong impression. I do think that having a plan and a strategy is very important. But don't let anyone set your strategy askew. There are thousands and thousands of people out there (in here) that are blogging, prepping, selling, and sharing ideas for like minded people.

Many of these people want to share their ideas and plans, some want to sell you something because it is a good idea that you should have and they can make a buck. Nothing wrong with making a buck. It is the American dream, right? There are a lot of people that will sell anything to make a buck and really have no idea or care what it is or if you need it.

Predators are real!

I am not just talking about the people that will want to take your stuff.

There is a lot going on in our country/world. Millions are trying to prepare. There is a lot you need, and a lot of crap that you don't. One of the most trendy things that there is right now is emergency preparedness. Many people/companies Only care about their profit no matter the expense.

This is the part where I tell you to do a little research

Read, Study, Learn

You have heard me say this before, and will many times if you are following this at all. Knowledge is power and the more you can learn the more prepared you will be. Don't buy something just because one person made it look good in an advertisement. The better you spend your money, the more prepared you can be.

What not to buy

I am not putting in a list of crap that I believe is no good. What my strategy consists of does not reflect what everyone thinks is great. But there is a lot of crap! If you have the money, and want it all, then it really doesn't matter what you buy and store. Keep in mind your space and budget. Just because it is trendy or there is an ad for it, doesn't mean it is necessary or good.

Here is a list of questions to ask yourself before throwing your money away.

1. Can I afford it? You don't know when you are going to need it. Don't go into debt for it.
2. Why are they selling it? Is it something they use? Or, are they only trying to make a buck?
3. Where was it made (what is the quality)? Is it going to work when it matters?
4. How big is it? Are you prepping your home and a GAG bag (grab and go)? It is great to have your home prepared and armed to the teeth but what if you have to leave your home? Can you take it with you? If it is something that you need, is there a portable version for your bag?
5. Whose name is on it? Many people buy a knife, canteen, etc. because it has the name of an actor or someone off a reality survival show. Don't forget, It is a show.
6. What is the practicality of it? Do you already own it in another form? There might be a new version with one more feature. Is it a feature you can't live without?
7. Does someone else have one? Expensive items that can be shared, can be shared. Do you have a like minded group of people in your network, or are you going to be alone? (the flip side to that is, if you can't get together then you still have one)
8. If you see it advertised everywhere it means people are probably buying it. Look it up and read reviews. What are other people saying about it?
9. Can I get a discount? Talk to your network, church, family. When you buy in bulk you can usually save money. The larger the purchase (more people) the better you can negotiate.

Does it take electricity? How much does it take? How much can you create? You will not always have your power source.

Read study Learn

I can not stress the importance of this

  Our sister site Pacificarmory.com will be up and running soon. Bookmark this site as it will be the best place to get all of your prepping and conceal carry wants and needs. We will also be expanding into firearms and ammo. Some of these items can be found now at oregonconcealedtraining.com Thank you

Prepping Mistakes: Part 1 of 5

In a previous post I talked about five big prepping mistakes/disasters. I felt it was only right not to just mention them, but to provide a little detail about each of them.

How much water should I have?

How much room do you have? At home I recommend having a larger water storage. A gallon a day per person is not enough, especially if you plan to use your toilet. When you start building your water storage please remember that you should rotate your water. Even unopened store bought water has a shelf life. Like with food storage, don't let it go bad.

 The recommendation is to have at minimum: 1 gallon per day per person. Plus 1/2 to 1 gallon per if you want to clean any clothes or dishes. So the question is simple. How long do you want to prepare for?

 People x 1 gallon x the amount of time = "your storage"

  If you want to be ready, then you need to be ready to leave your house. If you have to leave for 2 weeks that means each person carrying 14 gallons. In your "Grab and Go" packs you should have the means and knowledge to filter and purify water in case you have to. Neither I nor any of my offspring can carry 30 gallons of water for any significant distance.

How to make a water filter

The water that you come across is not necessarily going to be clean. You can make a filter that can filter out mud, dirt, insects, algae and a number of other things that you do not want to drink. Remember that you still want to purify your drinking water to make it safe.


A sand and Charcoal filter

1. To start with, you need a container.The larger your container, the more you will be able to filter  at any given time. A hole will need to be drilled or knocked out of the bottom of your container for the filtered water to come out. 

 You do not want your sand to come out of the hole. You can prevent this by placing some small rock over the drain to keep the sand if you do not have some fabric or a screen that the water can drain through.

2. Once you have covered your hole so that the sand will not leak out with:
• a couple of inches (centimeters) of pebbles.
• a grass mesh, make sure it’s nonpoisonous grass.
• or cotton material.

I recommend 2 layers of sand

 add a layer of gravel to strengthen the filter material and keep sand out of the filtered water.


3. Add a layer of sand (the larger your container the larger your layers)

4. Add a layer of charcoal. You can bust up some coal from your fire (please wait for it to cool) and use that. Do not pulverize it, small pieces, gravel size is best.

     If you do not have charcoal or access to fire yet, you can still have an effective filter with just sand.


5. Collect your water. Pour your collected water through the filter. You will need another container to collect the water as it comes out the bottom (collapsible water jugs would be a good thing to have with you). Look at the water that comes out of the filter. It should be clear. If not, you may have to pass the water through the filter more than once.


Make sure your water is safe to drink.

You can boil your water as an added precaution to ensure there is no bacteria in your drinking water. It is important to have the ability to purify your drinking water supply.

How to purify your water.

Water purification is important to make sure that you are not ingesting bacteria and other poisonous contaminants.

 I always recommend boiling your drinking water. After the water has been filtered there are a few purification methods that are easy to take with you. Keep them in your GAG bags (Grab and Go). You can have one or more of these items in your GAG bag.

• Water purification tablets (found at almost any camping store or section)
• Personal water filter straws ( If you can find a way to attach it, you can use one of these at the base of you filtration system and purify your water on the way out of your filter)
• Water purification bottles. Remember to pack extra filters.

Remember: No water = Death. If you don't sweat a lot you can last a few days without water. A clean water source should be one of your first priorities in an emergency situation. Shelter can Trump water depending on the need and climate.

  Our sister site Pacificarmory.com will be up and running soon. Bookmark this site as it will be the best place to get all of your prepping and conceal carry wants and needs. We will also be expanding into firearms and ammo. Some of these items can be found now at oregonconcealedtraining.com Thank you

Five Huge Prepping Mistakes

 5 Big Prepping Mistakes

There are more than five mistakes people can make obviously. These are five of the big ones that I see people make all of the time. I am not going to elaborate too deeply on these at this time to keep the posts short, memorable, and not too boring. Keep in mind that I will expand on these 5 key mistakes and others.

1) Not enough water

Clean water is one of the most important things you can have. No matter how much you have stored, you can only take so much with you if you have to leave your house. Keep water purification and bleach on hand. Do you know how to make a filter?

2) Watch out for what is trendy

Someone will come up with a good idea and suddenly it is everywhere. Read, study, learn. Just because everyone says you have to have it doesn't mean you do. Everyone wants to make a buck, and some will make theirs at the expense of anyone. Research what you are buying and ask yourself how practical it is. Can you take it with you? How much can you take with you?

3) Living off your supply/Rotation

Many will tell you not to eat your food storage. I say that depends. If you have 30 year shelf life storage, then keep it stored. When you are buying rice,wheat,flour in bulk to have storage use it up and keep buying. In other words rotate. But don't eat up your storage. Keep buying what you need to feed yourselves and remember FIFO (first in first out). You don't want to need it and find out it's bad.

4) Storing what you need

Most people store what they need. What about what everyone else needs. This is one of the most important things you can do for prepping. If you want to be able to take care of your family, you need to be prepared to take care of others. This is going to have to be an entire post/subject all on its own (Actually it will be the next post)

You also should be able to protect what you have. (also an entire series)

5) Knot having enough knowledge

Can you tie a knot to save your life?

So many people are storing food/guns&ammo/medicine but how prepared are you to use what you have? Yea, I got a satellite phone. Too bad I can't get a hold of anyone.

Yea. I got 150 lbs of wheat. How do you cook wheat?

I am out of lighter fluid. Now how do I build a fire?

Read, Study, Learn 

A handful of books that tell you how to survive are handy for more than just paper to start a  fire with. There are many good survival books out there. Make sure you are getting one that makes good sense.

Be Prepared

You will notice that there are no ads on my blog. This is not here to squeeze every penny I can out of some dupe who stumbled across my site. Every once and a while I will boost something that I think makes good sense, but you will find most supplies and food local through someone that you know for a decent price.

Emergency Preparedness in the North West Part 2

 I get asked....

    "Are you a Mormon?"
       "Conspiracy theorist?"
           "Are you some kind of Hippie or something?"

   Without sounding too radical, I am a little bit of all of these (kind of), and you should be too if you really want to be prepared. I am not saying that you need to really subscribe wholeheartedly to these practices but they all have areas that they prepare more than others.

Be a BoyScout, Be prepared.

  Hippies (not all of them of course) believe in the end of the world/society and plan on living off the land. Some of them are getting ready for that.
  Conspiracy theorists are getting ready for a revolution or civil war. Some of them are getting ready for that.
   Mormons (and a lot of others), believe in being ready for something. Listen to them. Whether they share your belief system or not, they are more ready than most. You can go to a lot of different sites and blogs where they tell you how to get ready. My brother (talk about Mormon) is starting a preparedness website to order ALL the things you might need.
.  Food
   Water
   Supplies.....   Tip of the iceburg.

 I think I will put an (Occasional) blog out about how and what to prepare, but for the most part this blog in general is about conceal carry, handguns, practice, and safety. How does that go along with emergency preparedness?

Guns. And lots of AMMO.

 You can prepare your whole life. Have all the food storage you need. If you think everyone is gonna group hug and share everything you are crazy. People will have guns. People will be mean. Those who have not prepared themselves will do what they feel they need to survive. People will steal and kill for food for themselves and their families.
  Prepare for your family and prepare to defend your family.
  Do you have somewhere to go that you can protect?


 I will touch on this subject every once and a while. But for now, Buy ammo for the guns you have. Store it in a cool dry place. Add to it when you can.

  Add this blog to your reading list.

Why do emergency preparedness?

There are many of us like minded folks out there that are now nicknamed "preppers". We prepare ourselves for hard times and believe one day we may need to use our provisions. While we all have different motivators for preparing, we all try to have a complete ration of supplies for hard times.  I personally am not an “end of the world” or “zombie apocalypse” kind of guy, but I do believe history repeats itself. 

Just because we live in the United States of America does not mean that war cannot visit our shores.  I also live in Oregon right at the base of the Cascade Mountain Range (literally).  This is an active volcanic range with active bulges growing right now on the South Sister in Bend and Mt. St. Helens in Washington.  We have many siezemic monitors located throughout my town for study and warnings.  So what? Will they erupt again in my lifetime? Probably not, but if they do and the food supply is cut off, roads or bridges destroyed, or no power for weeks, I will be able to still feed my family. 

A few years ago I was working on a utility crew for 6 days a week and long hours in the day.  All of the sudden we went from a work crew of 26 to 6 and a work week of 6 days to 3.  Ouch!  For the next year my family lived of our food storage and other supplies without having to get help from family, friends, or our highly funded government.  So it is not always the major disasters to prepare for, but the small and turbulent events of everyday life.

So I encourage all to be prepared for the unexpected.  I tell people I plan for the future as if nothing will ever happen (I have big dreams for me and my family I want to come true), but I prepare as if everything that can go wrong will.  This ensures that either way, my family will  have a good future.