My Prepper Air Gun Choice.

So as promised I have been doing research on airguns. I have looked at dozens of makes, calibers and models. So here is my report on what use the various airguns would be to a prepper. I am not going into great detain on each kind of air gun. Just giving the end result of my research.

Pneumatic pump air guns. This is the air gun that has a pump built in to it. You can pump it up to various pressures. This gives you the option of varying the power of the BB or pellet by how many pumps you put into it. I found them in .177 and 22 cal.
Advantage: You have the air supply with you at all times. You pump it up and it is ready to shoot. Holds pressure for days, weeks, months.
Disadvantage:  They do not have a lot of pounds per inch of hitting power, 8 to 14.
Indicated game: Small pest rodents pot guts and rats, Small to medium Birds quail to crows.
Personal defence: Not recommended. If you are a very good shot or very lucky. Only one shot.
Sound: moderately quiet, .22 cal a little quieter then a 22 rifle.
Cost: $30.00 to $200.00

Break barrel spring airgun. To use this airgun you cock a heavy spring by pulling the barrel as if you are folding the gun in half. You have the same power with each shot.  I found this in .117, 22, and 25cal.
Advantage: You have the power source with you at all times. Cock the barrel and you are ready to shoot.
Disadvantage: If you leave the gun cocked without firing the spring will become stressed, it may loose its spring or break. It has a double kick. one with firing one with the spring recoil.
Indicated game. Up to raccoons, depends on the maker and the size of pellet.
Personal defence: Not recommended. If you are a very good shot or very lucky. Only one shot.
Sound: Moderate, Similar to 22 cal or louder depending on make.
Cost: $150 and up

Break barrel gas piston. To use this airgun compress a gas piston by pulling the barrel as if you are folding the gun in half. You have the same power with each shot.  I found this in .117, 22, and 25cal.
Advantage: You have the power source with you at all times. Cock the barrel and you are ready to shoot. It can remain cocked and ready to fire for a long time without damaged to the gun. Hits up to 26 foot pounds.

Disadvantage: Only one shot.

Indicated game. Up to raccoons, depends on the maker and the size of pellet.

Personal defence: Not recommended. If you are a very good shot or very lucky. 

Sound: quiet, 70% less than other break barrel guns.

Cost: $190.00 and up

Pre charged pneumatic PCP: This air gun group have an internal air tank that if filled from a hand pump, scuba tank or other pressurised tank. Once the air tank is filled the airgun can be fired several times without having to be refilled. They are available in single shot or multi shot varieties. I found them in .177, .22, .25, .357, .45, and .50cal. 

Advantage: Able to fire several shots before recharging the air tank. Higher power impact on targets. Some over 200 foot pounds. Lower kick than regular firearm.

Disadvantage. Needs a high pressure pump to fill air tank or high pressure tank that was filled in a scuba shop. Takes time to refill air tank. As air pressure in the tank decreased so will the speed and impact of the pellet.

Indicated game: The PCP guns can take small to large game. .177, .22, .25 up to coyotes, .357, .45, and 50cal can take large game.

Personal Defence: Possible with larger calibers and repeating rifles.

Sound: Sound increases as the caliber increases. They are loud. Large calibers sound like a regular rifle shot.
Cost: Over $300.00. Most over $600.00. pulse charging equipment $200.00 to over $500.00

Break down of prepper uses:

.177 and .22 cal, small game hunting

.25 cal medium game hunting

.357,.45,.50 cal, Hunting up to large game and possible as personal defence.

For my prepper pick I chose the break barrel nitro air piston .22 cal. It is quiet and can take down small to medium game. If I'm in a survival mode I want to be quiet, quick and effective.  

If you are looking for personal defence then I would pick the PCP .357 to .50cal, It would be better for personal defence and for hunting larger game. I do not think there would be very much large game if we were all in survival mode. It would have been killed and eaten early on. If you are down to your airgun for personal defence I would want one I could fill easily and quickly. The PCP can be charged and ready before any conflict begins and provide several killing shots.  It would take time to refill and could leave you vulnerable to attack when you are pumping it up for the next serious of shots.

My personal survival plan is to avoid conflict. People will quickly become assets. You really do not want to kill your assets.

Prepper Airguns

As I have been perusing the web I came across an add for a bug out bag with an airgun. The airgun was a .22ca with a mussel velocity of 480 feet per second. It was a nice looking airgun, looked very high tech with a small bug out back pack. It said it had everything you need to survive: water bottle ammo and an airgun in a bakc pack.

I went to wondering about airguns. I had a BB gun as a kid, I have used my pellet guns from time to time. But now I was thinking about an airgun in prepper terms. Could an airgun be of use in an emergency situation?

First a little bit about airguns.
There are a large number of airguns out there.

For starters there are a lot of calibers of airguns. .177, .29, .22, .30, .357, .45, .50cal. and more.

There are several different ways they are powered
There are Variable Pump. With 2 pumps you can target practice indoors or out, increase the number of pumps increased the mussel velocity. At 10 pumps they often can be used for pest control
Break barrel, This is charged by using the barrel to cock the spring that fires the pellet. These are quite powerful
Leaver Action, A lever is used to cock the spring that fires the BB or pellet. Think Red Rider.
C02, pre-filled pressurised cylinders of C02 gas are used to propel the BBs or pellets
pre-charged pneumatic(PCP), An external pump or fill tank is used to charge an internal air tank in the gun. They can be the hardest hitting.

Not all airguns are made equal. Be sure to study the airgun by what you want it to be able to do.

So this is not going to be a list of all the passable useful air guns. There are a lot of ideas on what makes an airgun the best.

You need to know what you plan to use the airgun for. I have been using my airguns to target shoot. I used to use my .22cal to practice shooting. Now that the Ammo is hard to find I have switched to an air gun. Pellets and BBs are still very cheep and easy to find.

Some reasons to use an airgun follow:
Target practice,
Pest control,
Hunting small game
Hunting medium game
Hunting large game
Personal defence when the SHTF
Survival in a disparate situation.

Now for the thinking part of the problem

Remember advertising is the art of telling some of the truth so you will buy something.
The same thing holds true with airguns. Many beginning air gunners start with a cheep airgun. One that is advertised to have a high mussel velocity. Like 1200feet per second. Sad to say how fast the projectile travels is only one part of the equation. You also need the mass of the projectile to determine the amount of energy the projectile will hit with. This hitting energy is called pounds per square foot. That is the transfer of energy from the projectile to the target.

The Math:   The formula for finding out foot pounds of energy is to multiple the weight of the projectile times the mussel velocity that has been squared. Then divided by the number 450395 to get the foot pounds of energy. There are calculators on the Internet that will do the math for you, but the formula is the same.

This will answer the important question of how hard dose this thing hit. If your answer is less than 12 pounds per foot its a target practicing gun. Good for killing bugs and song birds.
It may not surprise you to find out that a lot of airguns are not very powerful. This dose not mean there are not some that can also take down large game. 

So lets start small. With the .177cal.. This airgun caliber can be found that BBs and pellets. BBs are shot through a smooth bore barrel. They usually travel faster than the heaver pellets. Pellets are shot through a smooth or rifled barrel. Never use BBs in a airgun that is for only pellets.

The .177 is the most common airgun sold in the USA. They come in Pump, CO2, Lever action, and break barrel. If is common to see them in many outlets from box stores, sporting goods and gun stores. The pellets are easy to find and the BBs are even cheaper. They frequently have high mussel velocities, some faster than 1200 feet per second. Because the pellets are very light that are used to reach high speed (the speed the printed on the box) they have very little knock down power and are less accurate. A heaver pellet has more foot pounds, travels slower and is more accurate. 

Because the pellet or BB in .177 is small and may be traveling very fast. It is passable to put the pellet through small game without doing very much damage. Kind of like stabbing it with a needle. there is a tiny hole but not a lot of damage. Unless it hits the brain, major organ(heart) or a big bone the animal may just run off. You may have killed it however it may take a few days for the hapless animal to die of infection. 

The best use for most .177 is to target shoot, small animal control like rats, mice or small pest birds.  The better quality pellet guns can be used for small game like squirrels and cottontail rabbits. That dose not mean that in the hands of a practiced shooter it can not be deadly for other game. You just need to have a airgun that is accurate, has the energy to kill and for you to be able to hit the kill shot. The weakest are the BB guns, The most powerful are often the Break Barrel.

I'm not going to go over the .20cal, guns and the pellets are not easy to find. If you want to know more about them feel free to look them up.

The .22cal are next on my list. I have found them in Pump, CO2, and Break Barrel. This pellet is about twice the weight of the .177. It has significantly more foot pounds of impact. The pellet being larger makes a bigger whole in your target and will do more damage to small game. The most powerful ones can be used for raccoons and such, if you are a good shot. The CO2 have the least hitting power, the pump if fully charged can be used for game to cottontail rabbit size and the break barrels can take up to raccoons and jack rabbits. If you can hit the kill shot.

Recently there have been increased interest and use of .25cal. Some on the new PCP .25cal are able to take down  coyotes and other medium sized game. Some are also available that have a rotating cylinder that lets you fire up to 8 pellets at full power with a single charge. 

The larger calibers .357, .45 and .50cal are almost only available in a PCP. They have a lot of knock down power. The can take larger animals, hogs, deer, and larger game has been reported.  

Not all airguns are made equal. Be sure you study any weapon you plan to purchase well before you pick one up. Read independent reviews.

If you just want to try one out there are several brands mostly .177 that can be purchased for under $100.00 and some for under $50.00.  A lot of people have a cheaper airgun. You may want to ask your friends if they have one you can try out before you go and buy your own.

I will be posting more on airguns over the next few days to weeks.

You are your most important tool.

What is the most important thing to have in good working order when things go bad? YOU need to be in good working order.

Physically you need to be in good health. This dose not mean having a chiseled physique. It is not about how many reps you can do in the gym or how fast you can run. It means being in good health for your age.

Diet is one of the most important factors in health. Not some special prepper diet or other fad diet you see on TV or Internet. It is good whole foods. Whole foods are unprocessed foods. This means fresh vegetables and fruit, meat you cook yourself, whole grains ect. There are a lot of things in boxes and cans you can grab quickly and heat up. They very often have diminished food value and additives that may harm you. I know its so easy to put a box of man chow in the microwave and have a full belly in just a few minutes. You may be fed but not fed well.

What should you eat for the best health.  The following is listed by what you should have the most of to the least of.

First green or orange vegetables. They are full of wonderful nutrients, antioxidants, immune stimulants and anti cancer compounds and fiber.  Having 3 or 4 cups of vegetable foods each day will increase your energy and improve your stamina.

Second whole grains. Be sure to read the label. There is no truth in advertising. If it contains 100% whole grains or is made with 100% whole grain it means that some of the ingredients are whole grain. If the label reads: white flower,barley flower, sugar, whole grain. They can claim 100% whole grain.  Because it contains some whole grain. So be sure the first ingredient is whole grain. Of course whole grains like oat meal, wheat or rice are easy to recognise and understand.

Third Nuts, dry beans, lentils and peas. These are sources of protein, carbohydrate, nutrients and fiber.

Forth meat and eggs, Animal flesh has a lot of protein and nutrition. Red meat is a major source of iron.  But, you can have too much of a good thing. So meat sparingly. It should not be the center of your diet.  Most of us like it to be. Yet a healthy amount of meat for the whole day would measure about the same size as a pack of playing cards. So one small hamburger patty. I know its not what you really want. Its not a 18oz porterhouse steak. It is what you need and is much healthier.

Last fats and sugar. Yes, bacon and snickers bars are in the same category. Have only a small amount of concentrated fats or sugars in a day. Its better if you do not have any most days. They provide a lot of calories and scant or no nutrition.

After diet the next thing to do to keep healthy is to keep active. I do not work out in a gym, run miles or any other form of what is generally considered exercise. I walk 1 to 2 miles each day, do my job,  keep the yard cleaned up, help in the house and keep active by practicing my skills.

Too much exercise is not good. Some body fat is healthy. If you can walk or jog a mile or so without clutching your chest, needing to stop and rest, or becoming winded you are in good enough shape. If you can walk, jog, hike or climb 2 to 3 miles you are in fine shape if the SHTF. Some of you may do more tactical training or work out to stay fit. That is good and healthy. Just keep some body fat so you have reserve if you need to go a few days without a meal.

The most important part of your  took to keep up is your mind. You need to be mentally fit. Read something every day. Play strategy games that challenge your mind like chess. Talk to people. Keep current on world events. Not just the bad world events but also the good things that happen. If you always focus on the bad things you will become depressed and paranoid. Despite the fact that at any moment something terrible could happen, almost always things are going mostly good.

So shape up your most important tool and take good care of you.

Mormon Church Home Canning Center Changes.

Over the past few months there has been a lot of activity on several preper sites, prepper groups, media, conservative sites and other media outlets about the LDS Church(Mormons) shutting down their home canning sites as a result of government interference. This is a news release from the LDS Church on June 24 2013. I hope this will keep preppers and persons who want to live providently up to date.

Always go to the source before you join in rumors.

Church Clarifies Changes to Home Storage Centers

  From the Church News

• 24 JUNE 2013

Cannery black and white beans. Self-canning services are being discontinued, but members can still purchase the same pre-canned items at no additional cost.

• Print
• Share 

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• Changes are being made to most of the home storage centers located in the United States and Canada.
• You can no longer can items yourself, but you may purchase pre-canned or prepackaged food at no additional cost.
• Changes increase the Church’s ability to efficiently produce and ship goods in bulk, utilize less warehouse space, and allow for higher quality and safer preparation of home storage food.

RELATED LINKS

• Read more how concerns over home storage center changes are unnecessary.
• Find a home storage center near you.
• Learn more about the changes to the home storage centers.

Over the past several weeks, misinformation and unnecessary concern has been circulating on blogs, over social media channels, and by email regarding changes in operations at the Church’s home storage centers, which are located in the United States and Canada. Here are some important facts:

No home storage centers are being closed.

In 89 of the Church’s 101 home storage centers in the U.S. and Canada, patrons will no longer self-can products, but they may purchase these same items pre-canned or prepackaged at no additional cost.

The following 12 home storage centers will continue to offer self-canning for the time being:

·      Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

·      Mesa, Arizona

·      Boise, Idaho                                                     

·      Idaho Falls, Idaho

·      Carrollton, Texas

·      Lindon, Utah

·      Logan, Utah

·      Ogden, Utah

·      Salt Lake City, Utah (Welfare Square)

·      Sandy, Utah

·      Springville, Utah

·      St. George, Utah

While many individuals have enjoyed self-canning at the Church’s home storage centers, the advantages of providing pre-canned or prepackaged goods include:

· It’s more efficient and cost effective for the Church to produce and ship high-quality, pre-canned or prepackaged goods in bulk rather than ship the same goods and empty cans to a location where individuals can them on their own.

· By offering the goods pre-canned or prepackaged, the Church utilizes less warehouse space.

· Pre-canned and prepackaged operations allow for higher quality and safer preparation of home storage food.

· It is much more costly to maintain and upgrade facilities that must meet food production standards (such as in a self-canning operation) than it is to maintain a facility that simply distributes pre-canned and prepackaged food. 

· Volunteer personnel time can be used more efficiently.

Easy spice to grow.

I hate to think of surviving on just whole wheat, beans and rice. That is why in my garden I have been adding some spices.

Often we think of spice as an exotic and difficult to grow product from the warm climate. It is true that many of the well know spices will not grow in the temperate zones. There are however many spices that grow well in the cooler places.

This year I have began experimenting with mustard. Mustard is an herb that is very easy to grow. Most varieties are heirloom and the seeds can be planted from season to season.

Despite what  the bible indicates mustard is not grown on a tree. It is a low herb that grows a lot like lettuce. It is a warming green. By warming I mean the leaves are warm or hot to the taste. And not too surprising they taste a lot like mustard.

To grow mustard greens plant the seeds a few inches apart. I did mine 3 inches apart. the plants grew to about 12 inches high and produced a lot of leaves. They make a nice spicy addition to a green salad. They are a bit like water cress. I would not use them for the whole salad. They would be to hot. If you suffer from heart burn you may want to have your ant-acid on hand if you eat too much.

This plant also produces a second crop. When the weather turns hot (80 degrees Fahrenheit) the plants bolt quickly. This is not a problem. The flower stalks may grow over 36 inches. They have a lot of small yellow flowers on them. Bees pollinate the flowers that become seed pods that are about an inch or so long and about 1/16 inch wide. Let the pods stay on the pants until they begin to turn brown or yellow. Then pick them off and place them in a paper bag. If you leave the pods on the plant they will split open and the seeds will fly out in every direction. Let the seed pod dry in the bag. When they are dry shake the bag this will cause most of the pods to open. Any pods left unopened and be gently crushed in your fingers to free the seeds.  Separate out the seeds. The seeds can be used for pickling or crushed and made into mustard. The mustard in a bit warmer than the yellow mustard in the store. It has a flavor more like Dijon mustard.

Be sure to save some of the seeds for the next years crop.

Big Brother is watching your Phone and our Online Activity!

Part 1

This past week it came out in the media that the government has been gathering information on everyone in the USA. By following Facebook picture posts ad checking who you call on your phone.

The government of the USA stated that this previously secret program was instigated to protect the people from terrorist attack.

First let me ask you some questions.

You really did not know the government was watching you? Tracking your life? Keeping a file about you? If you did not you must be one of the most naive people on the planet. Tracking people is easy.

Most of us however are too boring to track or even pay attention too. We live mundane lives of no real consequence to the global stage. The government will not be spending any resources watching us because in most peoples lives there is nothing to see. Watching people work, go home and then watch TV is not interesting to the Federal government.

The people who may need to worry about the governments ability to snoop are the ones who are doing the wrong things.

This brings us to a primary question of freedom. One of our most cherished rights. How do we define our freedom! What is its meaning. How do we go about being free?

When I was in high school an American history teacher discussed freedom and gave an American idea of freedom and a Communist idea of freedom. In the USA we at that time believed that we were free to do. The Communist nations were free from.

We in the USA could choose our own path in life. Free to work at the jobs we wanted. Free to live where we wanted. Free to marry who we wanted. Free to get higher education. Free to protect our homes. Free to own property. Free to have a private personal life. Free from government intervention. Free from unreasonable search.

The Soviet block nations were free from the responsibility of finding a job. Free from paying for health care. Free from hunger. Free from the cost of housing. Free from crime. Free from personal responsibility. Free to have the government examine your personal life. Free to be searched without cause.

Over the past few years I have seen a change in the mind set of the people of the USA. They are expecting much more from our government. The want to be free from the high cost of of health care. They want to be free from hunger. They want to be free from gun violence. They want to be free from terrorist attacks.They are willing to have themselves searched before getting on a plane. They say its OK to monitor phones and the Internet if it prevents a terrorist attack. It's OK to give up your guns it it could save one child.

How quickly we have changed from a people wanting to choose our own course in life. A people who took responsibility for our actions. To a people wanting to be taken care of, watched over, fed and protected by the government.

SO WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING WHEN YOU FIND OUT THE GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING OVER YOU!!! If the government is going to take care of you they need to know what you need. To know what you need they will watch you. Then they can take care of you. Why is everyone so surprised. You have what you have been asking for.

Seriously do you think the government is concerned about you? They are not. They are only concerned about getting re-elected. They will do what people who donate to their campaign or vote want them to do.

PART 2

I can tell you who is concerned about you and who is watching you much more closely than the government ever has. People who have a vested interest in you, what you do and how you live.

It is Corporate America. Yes the big retail giants are watching you. Do you have any member cards? The one that gives you a discount every time you shop at their store? They are tracking you. They know what you like to eat, drink and sleep on. They keep a list of your favorites. They track all you do and when you will need something. How do I know? Have you ever gone shopping for your food and bought a multi-vitamin with 100 pills in it? Then in about 80 to 90 days latter received a coupon for a multi-vitamin? They track what you buy then send you a coupon for it when you are about to run out. Then you will come back into their store to buy it. That can form a habit of shopping there. All this is not that bad, they are watching over you, helping you and saving you money. Did you check to see if the coupon was for a more expensive item? A brand name vitamin? They are slick and know how to separate you from your money.

The people watching your every move, who know what you buy, what you eat, your choice of entertainment, your shoe size and when your car needs its oil changed is not the government. It is Corporate America. So when the government has a reason to look closely at you they do not expend their resources.  They simply call your credit card company, your phone company, check your Facebook,  your bank and local supermarket. They have so much information about what you have been up to.

Get use to the idea you are being watched and so is every one else. Try to keep it interesting the government is getting bored.

Keep up on your Garden.

Are you thinking it's a bit late to plant a garden?

You still have a lot of time. Hear in Utah I still have more than 120 days of growing before the first freeze.

Just get out and plant some seeds!

Now is the time to start some of your warm weather crops. Planting seeds for corn, squash and beans peppers, egg plant, carrots, beats, turnips, or any other root crop and anything else that needs warm weather. There is still lots of time for for planting.

It is exciting to try a few new crops each year. A lot of seeds are going on sale now so pick up something new and see how it produces and what it tastes like.

There is a lot of security in knowing where your food comes from and knowing how to grow it yourself.