Many of these things can be found at your local dollar store, but you might find them even cheaper at places like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and other discount retailers. It pays to shop around a bit. With many of these items, there is little if any difference between a brand name and generic.
Maintaining good hygiene is one of the best ways to avoid illness. Most of us are far removed from the lifestyles of our forefathers. As a result, our immune systems are weaker, making us more susceptible to germs we run across in the field. Hand sanitizer will be a great help in reducing the risk of illness.
Plus, being able to clean up is a great morale boost. A small washcloth and a bar of cheap soap will do wonders. Add in a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss and you’ll feel almost human again!
Spend more than a little time out in the sun without protection and you’ll end up a squinting, blistered mess. Sunglasses and sunscreen are necessities. A hat with a wide brim or at least a ball cap would be a bonus. The sun and wind will work together to chap your lips, so add in a tube of lip balm.
A bandana can serve as a sweatband or facemask, water filter, wound dressing, as well as countless other tasks. Put two or three of them in your kit.
In my area of the country, the mosquitoes come big enough to qualify as single engine aircraft. Spend enough time with them in the bush and you’ll need a transfusion. Good bug repellent will be a Godsend, trust me.
If you’ve ever had to spend time hiking after your feet got soaked, you’ll know how important dry socks can be. Tube socks can be found cheap at all the various discount stores. Buy a pack of them and toss a couple pair in your kit. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to put them into a zip lock plastic bag first, just in case. In a pinch, they can also serve as makeshift mittens.
A plastic garbage bag can serve as an expedient poncho, of course. Being that you probably already have at least a box or two of them, toss a couple bags into your kit. And who doesn’t have a metric ton of plastic shopping bags in their home, right? These can be used for carrying items as well as keeping things dry. You already paid for them when you bought your groceries, so you might as well put them to some use.
This can be especially important in your vehicle kits. Take my word on this – if you find yourself stranded in your vehicle for any length of time, you’ll be searching for anything to do to occupy your time. A cheap paperback book could be enough to keep you from climbing the proverbial walls. A deck of cards, some dice, crossword puzzles, pens and paper will all do the same. Plus, you can use the paper to leave notes to potential rescuers or searchers, should the need arise. Most of these items you probably already own, but if not, they can be found cheap at dollar stores.
If the possibility exists that you could be stranded with children in the car, be sure to have things for them to do as well. Crayons, coloring/activity books, small toys, and picture books will all serve you well.
Imagine you’ve been on the road a few days, trying desperately to get home after a major disaster. Your meager rations ran out yesterday. You’re tired and hungry. As you come over a hill, you see a wrecked car. It has been sitting a day or two and looks like it was a hit and run. The driver didn’t survive the crash. In the back seat, you see a few cans of food that scavengers somehow missed. Boy, canned peaches in syrup sound great! But, how will you open the can? If you had thought ahead, you’d have added a small can opener, like a P-38, to your kit. I’ve seen them for as little as fifty cents online recently.
Salt and other spices will be of great benefit to you should you find yourself trapping or fishing for your dinner. I’ve seen containers just slightly larger than an average salt shaker with sections built in for different spices. Add in the ones you like the most, such as Cajun mix, garlic powder, and crushed pepper. Some fast food joints still have condiments available at the self-serve area. Don’t be greedy and fill your pockets but don’t hesitate to grab a couple extras.
Hard candy and gum can help your mood as well as give you a needed sugar boost. Chocolate doesn’t store very well, especially in car with outside temperature extremes. While you’re at the dollar store getting the Jolly Rancher knock-offs, you might as well pick up a couple packages of the fake Ritz crackers as well.
If you’ve ever actually had to drink water that was treated with water purification tablets, you know it can taste kind of like chemically treated butt. Single-serve drink mixes can save the day, or at least your taste buds. Sometimes you can also find single-serve instant coffee on sale cheap. If you’re a coffee drinker, this will obviously be very welcome. Since you’re already in the drink aisle, pick up some flavored tea bags too.
Butane lighters are three for a buck at many gas stations. These are vastly easier to use than any other method of lighting tinder. Even if the lighter runs out, as long as it is dry it will spark. While we’re on the subject, dryer lint is free and makes excellent tinder. Cotton balls work very well too and are very inexpensive. (In a future article, we’ll discuss all sorts of different DIY fire starters.)
Decent work gloves will definitely be a necessity, whether you’re building an improvised shelter or having to work your way through a fifty-car pile up. You don’t need to spend a fortune on them but you’ll want leather on the palms of the gloves at a minimum.
Hot glue sticks are very helpful in making expedient repairs to clothing and gear. Just heat up the end of the stick and spread it where you need it.
Duct tape has enough uses to fill several book length works. The problem is the large rolls are heavy and bulky. Wrapping it around a pencil stub will help reduce both weight and size.
Glow sticks are very useful. They consume no batteries and give off enough light to read by or find your way from your shelter to your latrine area at night. Naturally, the Mil-Spec ones are much brighter and longer lasting than ones you’ll find at the dollar stores, but they also cost considerably more. The cheap ones will serve the purpose.
As I said at the outset, none of these items are life critical, but each of them will offer a degree of comfort and usefulness well exceeding their cost.
Jim Cobb is The Frugal Prepper. He owns www.SurvivalWeekly.com and blogs daily at www.Survival-Gear.com/blog. Jim loves to hear from his readers, whether they have questions, comments, concerns, or insults. He can be reached at: [email protected].
Tips For Concealed Carry
by Chance Sanders
You would be surprised at how many people support the Second Amendment, yet they still choose not to exercise their right to carry a firearm. I hear every sort of excuse known to man. Most often it is a well meaning individual who is ignorant of his or her state laws. Or they just leave it in their car. The folly with this mindset and practice is you never know when your life or the life of your loved ones may be threatened. It is not enough to just purchase a firearm in order to make yourself feel better about the fact that you have no idea how to protect yourself. You must determine that you will not be a victim due to failure on your part to study and train. You must tap into those animal instincts that most of us suppressed long ago. This is not about self esteem, this is about self preservation.
Now that you have made the decision to get your concealed carry permit there are some things you want to consider before you purchase that handgun. What size? What caliber? The list seems endless, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. First we need to determine what size weapon works for you. Like most things there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to handguns. There are some general facts when it comes to selecting a handgun. There is no substitute for hands-on experience when it comes to selecting that first weapon. One thing people seem to get wrong is buying too small of a weapon and do not understand basic pistol craft or gun fighting in general. The smaller the gun, the harder it is to manipulate. In order to keep them small, the controls on these firearms are small as well. Anything but gross motor skill goes out the door when placed in a life or death situation. It is better to have a 5 shot revolver that you
can operate under stress than that little pocket rocket that founds its way to the bottom of your favorite jeans, buried under the keys and loose change. So find a weapon that you will not leave behind due to size and weight. Ideally you want to strike a balance between magazine capacities; sizes of the round fired, and overall ability to conceal. Most of your local gun ranges will allow you to rent a firearm to shoot on the premises – take advantage of this. Try to find a frame that fits your hand as well as your skill level. Remember your skill level will grow with proper training, the size of your hands will not!
So now that we have found that sweet spot between fit and feel, let’s look at function. Clearly we are carrying concealed for defense of self and defense of others against death or serious bodily harm. While having a tricked out race gun may be all the rage at the local range, we want reliability. The function of a handgun is self-preservation. It should be carried at all times and trained with often. How we dress should not determine what fire arm we carry, it should be the other way around. Women have the added benefit carrying a purse. However, if you are going to carry in this manner then you must train at drawing and firing from that carry method. Although there are plenty of “tactical“ messenger bags around, some men seem to be reluctant to use them as a concealment option. I am of two minds on this. On one hand you can wear whatever type of clothing you want and still carry. On the other hand, you run the risk of setting down your bag and no longer having control of your weapon. If anything, I would use these bags as a shooter’s support bag to carry other critical gear.
After you make your selection on what handgun best suits your needs, it is time to look at some other important items. The first of these is a reliable means of securing your weapon to your person until needed. Like everything else in life, holsters come in all shapes and sizes and they are all trade-offs. Just pick up any gun magazine or catalog and you will see everything under the sun. Leather is the old standby and is preferred for its looks as well as its comfort. Kydex® is another player on the field that has threatened to topple leather from its lofty heights as the king of carry. A space age plastic, Kydex® has the ability to be molded to pretty much any shape and retain that shape. In an effort to please both sides of this struggle for supreme holster, some diplomatic person interceded and invented the hybrid. The hybrid holster promises the comfort of leather and the durability of Kydex®. This marriage of materials may just be what you are looking for. In addition to materials there are all sorts of styles of holsters. These are designed to place the handgun in every conceivable position that you could imagine. If you are starting to get overwhelmed with all of the choices out there, never fear. There is a simple method to determine the right one for you. First you should consider where your hands naturally fall when at rest. My hands fall down somewhere near my front pockets. From here I think about where my hands have to go to establish a shooting grip on my firearm and draw. This draw stroke should not be impeded by clothing. So it is the job of the non-firing hand to clear any clothing out of the way as I establish my grip. Whatever method you choose, it should allow you to get your weapon into action quickly while retaining the weapon when you are not using it. I feel that I would be remiss if I did not mention retention holsters. These holsters have a mechanism that locks the weapon into place until you press some type of release prior to drawing. I defiantly think this is a valuable feature considering that the first rule of self defense is to run!
No weapon is complete without a reload option. I don’t care how many rounds your magazine will hold, should you experience a stoppage you may be forced to drop the magazine in order to get the gun up and running. Now you’re staring at your only source of ammunition lying there on the ground and wondering what the hell just happened. I recommend at least one reload. Your spare magazine should be carried on your weak side with the rounds facing inboard. This will facilitate a faster reload while you search and assess for other threats. Revolvers have their own version of reloads and with practice can be loaded as fast as a pistol. If you are carrying a compact size pistol that will accept larger magazines, then I recommend you carry the largest magazine available that does not interfere with the weapons cycle of operations. Just remember, if you have to reload then you need every round you can carry.
So what else should we include in our arcane little bag of tricks? I never go anywhere without a quality light source. If you are going to use a weapon mounted light then it should be used in conjunction with an independent flashlight. This gives you the ability to search around without flagging everything around you. Keep in mind that a weapon mounted light does nothing to light your sights. So go ahead and spring for those tritium night sights. An added bonus is that these glow in the dark sights make it easy to locate your weapon at O-dark 30.
Another item that is paramount if you are going to carry a weapon is a comprehensive trauma kit. Something as simple as a tourniquet and an Israeli bandage can go a long way. Remember that nothing replaces proper training and you should be prepared for whatever comes your way.
I hope this article leaves you with some knowledge and you give serious thought to what we have covered. If you are serious about protecting yourself then seek professional instruction. I am certain that there are many thoughts, opinions, and knowledge out there on this subject. This article is by no means definitive; it’s just some things I picked up from carrying a gun for a living for the past twelve years.
Chance Sanders is a former U.S. Marine marksmanship instructor and firearms specialist. He teaches survival skills in his native South Carolina and is currently working with Dave Canterbury (Dual Survival/The Pathfinder School) to establish a S.C. branch of his Advanced Pathfinder school there.
Nutrients for Healthy Survival
by Rivanone Koz
Staying healthy in a survival situation should be at the top of your preparation to-do list. By maintaining health in an extreme circumstance you can better insure your own survival and that of your family. Along with attention to proper hygiene, the key to staying healthy when you are relying on your own resources is eating proper nutrition. The absolute best way to get good nutrition is by providing sources of fresh fruits and vegetables to you and your dependents in every situation. An MRE is not going to get the job done and neither is a conventional vitamin.
Conventional vitamins, whether in pill form or added to food products are only isolated synthetic components of nutrients. They are not the same as the complete complexes found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Shelf stable food that has been “fortified” with vitamins and minerals are providing the few standardized vitamins and minerals which can be synthetically derived or chemically produced in a lab. These do not provide you with the thousands of health promoting nutrients that nature provides you in fresh foods. Not only does it seem that conventional vitamins are relatively ineffective in promoting health, they have also been associated with serious side effects similar to those in pharmaceutical drugs - especially when used long term. With more and more studies revealing the therapeutic value of real food, it has become very apparent that depending on a conventional vitamin to maintain health is at best a waste of time and money.
The good news is that the same foods which help you avoid sickness and infection also help prevent long term disease.
For a short term acute crisis it is vital to avoid infection and sickness, which would be debilitating for your situation. A key component to a high functioning immune system is having a healthy digestive system. The enzymes found in fresh fruits and vegetables are powerful components of food that help promote healthy digestion. In situations where water may be contaminated, a healthy digestive system can often successfully fight contaminants found in water, such as parasites. Furthermore, by taking a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar every day your intestines will more easily maintain a proper pH, making them more permeable to nutrients and boosting the immune system (please be sure to rinse your mouth with water each time, as vinegar can eat the enamel off
your teeth over time.)
Another factor that can directly affect the immune system is stress. Have you ever noticed that after you’ve become “run down” is when you end up getting sick? Inevitably, in unforeseen crisis situations stress will be a major factor on the functionality of your immune system. Certain super foods such as those naturally high in the vitamin B complex are going to help your body deal with unavoidable stressors. Brewer’s yeast is a preferred natural source of B vitamins and has been used for centuries as a natural food supplement.
For long term self reliance, especially when medications are not widely available, one should take steps to avoid development of disease. Vinegar is a powerful disinfectant for germy surfaces. A diet rich in high anti-oxidant foods can help fight both infection and disease. Foods like citrus and berries are particularly high in anti-oxidants and should be a priority in your diet. Another aspect of disease prevention is the role of chronic inflammation in your health. Chronic inflammation can often be a precursor to diseases like cancer and heart disease. Certain foods can either contribute to inflammation or help reduce it. Processed and shelf-stable foods often contain preservatives such as hydrogenated oils that perpetuate the inflammation cycle. On the other hand, foods like ginger and turmeric have been shown to reduce chronic inflammation.
Incorporating enough fresh fruits and vegetables into your normal everyday diet is hard enough with easy access in the local grocery store. How are you supposed to do it in the midst of major fall out or natural disaster?
This question poses a particular quandary when you are thinking about food storage. Food is most nutritious in the raw form because many of its healthful nutrients break down when heated to temperatures of around 100-115 degrees. Vitamin C for example is very susceptible to heat damage. When you dehydrate your own food, you may be exposing it to temperatures too high to protect nutrients, like the enzymes in fresh fruits and veggies necessary for healthy digestion. Freeze dried food is a great option because freeze drying protects almost all of foods naturally occurring nutrients. One idea is to keep a supply of freeze dried fruits and vegetables on hand, from companies like TyRy Foods or Mountain House. You can store either the #10 cans from these manufacturers or the small fruit packs. Re-hydrating the food however, usually involves hot water which introduces the heat factor once again.
Survivalist Anthologies Volume 1 Page 26