Best Self Defense Cartridge?

We came across this YouTube video and thought it was humorous and thought provoking - let me know what you think!

Book Review - Holding Your Ground

I recently received a copy of "Holding Your Ground" by Joe Nobody ("Do you think that is a pen name?" Enola Gay asks) to peruse and review.  Being more of a guy read than a lady thing, Sir Knight was the first to read it.  As he read, I got the distinct impression (due to the fact that he didn't put it down for two days) that it was well worth the ink on the page.

Sir Knight read intently, occasionally putting the book down and looking at me over his glasses remarking "Hey, we need to think about putting an ADS (Area Denial System) in place" or "Did you know that they made trail cameras that connect wirelessly (no internet or phone service) to your computer from up to a mile away? - We could track enemy movement!".

Joe Nobody was in the military.  Although he never mentions his background, it is clear by his writings that he has experience with "Holding his Ground".  In the current conflicts in the middle east, many of our soldiers have spent years in camps sharpening the skills required to hold their ground.  Not having been in the military, Sir Knight found "Holding Your Ground" to be chuck full of clear, concise information for setting up and defending your home in the event of the unthinkable.  Much more than stringing up razor wire and making homemade land mines (the book doesn't advocate either of these techniques), "Holding Your Ground" walks you through methodology, technique and execution of securing your perimeter without doing damage to your property or creating an eyesore.  He also takes into consideration the concerns of securing a home where children and animals are present.

"Holding Your Ground" has an Excel spreadsheet that is accessible online to help you evaluate the defensibility of your bug-out location and the skills of your group.  Once you determine your defensive position and skills, the book walks you through practical steps to increase both your defense and your skill sets.

This book does not waste your time with in-depth discussion on firearms or training - it simply encourages you to take advantage of all of the information that is available on firearms and tactics, to do your own research, to get firearms and ammunition and to get the best training you can afford.

There are sections on how to defend the block you live on (if you are in the suburbs), what areas to cover, fields of fire and it goes so far as to detail the best way to defend an apartment building.  Setting up a perimeter, including neighbors in your defense plan, dealing with hostiles and those that don't appear hostile (but are) and suggestions on bullet-proofing your firing positions are all included.

The long and short of it?  Buy this book.  DO NOT put this book and mothball it on a shelf.  It is only effective if you read it and put it into practice.  It will make you rethink your defense strategy (or make you think about it, if you haven't already) and give you clear direction as you plan your TEOTWAWKI strategy.  Sir Knight suggests that you read this book, research some of the ideas, read the book again and then implement (or prepare for) the ideas that would be practical for your location.

I must admit, after Sir Knight read "Holding Your Ground", I had to pick it  up.  I found it fascinating!  It was easy for me to understand (even with my lack of tactical knowledge) and had me planning window boxes with beautiful flowers ( when filled with 12 inches of sand they present effective bullet-proofing for up to a .308 caliber rifle!) for all of my windows.

"Holding Your Ground" is an indispensable tool for your preparedness arsenal.  It comes very highly recommended.


Note:  Someone with military experience may not find this book particularly helpful, being familiar with the principles already.  However, for the average "Joe" it is practical and thought provoking.

Introducing....The Flash Draw

One day last week, I spent the afternoon helping my wonderful friend, Lady Day, design a website for her home business.   

About a year and a half ago, Lady Day went on the hunt for the perfect concealed carry (CC) holster.  She looked at all of the options - the purse, the shoulder holster, the fanny pack, ITW (inside the waist band) and anything else she could think of.  Some of the options worked some of the time, but there was no "universal" CC holster that worked most all the time.  

My friend, as her name would imply, is a Lady in the truest sense of the word.  She is petite, feminine and favors long flowered skirts and lovely blouses.  None of the CC holster she found were compatible with who she is.  Many skirts don't have waistbands that accept belts, so the ITW holsters were out.  A fanny pack is a little to "hippy" for a Lady (and everyone knows your packing), and a purse holster is cumbersome, heavy on one side and can be snatched, gun and all.

Lady Day went in search of something better.  Her search led her to an on the body, "bra style" holster that is worn under your clothes.  She found out that sometimes, if you can't find what you are looking for, you have to make your own.  After wearing her new holster for a couple of months, she decided that she could improve it even more.  Noticing wear and rust on her pistol where the fabric touched her skin, she added PUL, a thin waterproof fabric (used in cloth diapers) to protect the firearm.  She improved the straps, making them removable so that when they become stretched from the weight of the gun, they could be easily replaced.

The Naturally Concealed holster (with the Smith & Wesson)

Concealed!

Then, she made one for me!  It is outstanding!  I had carried my handgun in my purse for years, and had often complained about how heavy it was.  I carry a medium (steel) framed automatic that is quite heavy, however, when I started using the new holster, I hardly noticed it was there.  I can go to town, drive around all day, put away groceries, and never even notice a gun strapped to my chest.

Now you see it...

Now you don't!

After much encouragement from her many adoring fans (she also made a holster for Maid Elizabeth) we have convinced her she needs to make this carry option available to the masses.

I encouraged Lady Day to name her new holster "The Flash Draw".  My theory was, you would flash the bad guy, and while he was standing there gawking, you could shoot him.  You would flash and then draw!  But, oh, no!  As I said, my dear friend is a Lady.  She chose the much more sedate name "Naturally Concealed".  And, in reality, you don't flash anyway - the handgun is accessed through the top of your shirt or blouse or discreetly underneath.  But I really thought my name was better.

Regular straps

Criss-Cross for extra support

Lady Day's holster design is very accommodating for many different handguns.  She carries a Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum and I carry an HK P7M8 with equal ease.  Some ladies have been able to carry a full size, large frame, automatic (although the holster must be slightly larger to accommodate).

If any of you are in the market for a great, handmade (to perfection) holster - I would more than encourage you to check out Naturally Concealed!

The HK and Smith & Wesson being cozy

For my Men in Kilts

This song made me think of my Warrior Men in Kilts.  I hope we never come to this on our own soil!  Lord - hold back judgement....







A little history on Sgt MacKenzie,

Joseph MacKenzie wrote the haunting lament after the death of his wife, Christine, and in memory of his great-grandfather, Charles Stuart MacKenzie, a sergeant in the Seaforth Highlanders, who along with hundreds of his brothers-in-arms from the Elgin-Rothes area in Moray, Scotland went to fight in the Great War. Sergeant MacKenzie was bayoneted to death at the age of 35, while defending one of his badly injured fellow soldiers in the hand-to-hand fighting of the trenches.

His great grandson said:

To the best of my knowledge, and taken from reports of the returning soldiers, one of his close friends fell, badly wounded. Charles stood his ground and fought until he was overcome and died from bayonet wounds. On that day, my great grandmother and my grandmother were sitting at the fire when the picture fell from the wall. My great grandmother looked, and said to my grandmother "Oh, my bonnie Charlie's dead". Sure enough a few days passed, and the local policeman brought the news - that Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie had been killed in action. This same picture now hangs above my fireplace. A few years back my wife Christine died of cancer, and in my grief I looked at his picture to ask what gave him the strength to go on. It was then, in my mind, that I saw him lying on the field and wondered what his final thoughts were. The words and music just appeared into my head. I believe the men and woman like yourself who are prepared to stand their ground for their family - for their friends - and for their country; deserve to be remembered, respected and honoured. "Sgt. MacKenzie", is my very small tribute to them.

Why Prepare (and what we are preparing for)

Just one look at the headlines and we know that the potential for a natural disaster, economic catastrophe, personal tragedy or social unrest is great.  You hear the axiom "be prepared", but what exactly does that mean?  How do you start? What are your preparing for?  Is preparedness really necessary?

Every year, in all parts of the globe, natural disaster strike unsuspecting people, leaving behind remnants of lives mangled by acts of God.  Vast amounts of people become refugees, relying on governmental agencies for their daily survival.  Floods wash away dreams and homes, gardens and animals.  Fires devour lives and livelihoods.  In some countries, civil unrest and war tear at the very fabric of family and village life and leave inhabitants clinging to what little they have.  Here in America, we are fortunate to still live in a land of plenty.  We have the opportunity to provide for our families and build a hedge of protection against natural disasters and other potential life changing threats.

My husband and I used to live in the Greater Seattle Metropolitan area, and learned firsthand how essential preparedness is, and how few people know it or live it.  Many years ago, my husband was a volunteer firefighter with a little fire station on the east side of Lake Washington.  The Seattle area was buffeted by a HUGE windstorm, leaving the city crippled.  It was the middle of winter and temperatures were quite cold.  My husband and I bundled up our then 3-year-old daughter, packed into our 4-wheel drive Chevy truck and headed to the fire station using the back roads.  We made it about 4 miles and were confronted with a long line of stopped cars and people desperately trying to contact the local fire station on their cell phones.  There was a tree across the road.  When I say tree, I am being generous.  It was more like a large stick, but I'll call it a tree for the sake of argument.  Not one person had a chainsaw, hatchet, axe or even a pull strap or chain to pull the tree out of the road.  There was abject helplessness.  Without the help of the local civil servants, these folks were unable to reach their destination.

This was truly an "ah ha" moment for my husband and I.  My husband, although raised in the city, had a can-do mountain man mentality, and I had been raised in the outback of Idaho.  I grew up in the mountains were everyone had a chainsaw, shovel and six-pack of beer in their truck.  Anytime there was a downed tree, you would see fresh sawdust, remnants of branches, a couple of beer cans and a cleared road.  There was no waiting for someone to rescue you.  You just took care of business.  The windstorm in my Seattle back yard really opened my eyes.  Not everyone here had the wherewithal to take care of themselves.  Mostly it was from the lack of planning and a lifestyle of relying on governmental agencies for the most basic of daily necessities.

My husband, explaining that he was a fire fighter, sawed the tree into movable chunks and got on with the business of getting to the fire station.  This was our lesson in Preparedness 101.  We realized that we needed to be prepared.  We did not want to have to rely on some nameless agency or charity to care for our needs.  We did not want to be a drain on an already overloaded system.  We wanted to be beacons of hope in the chaos of uncertain times.  We chose to become a "Paratus Familia", a prepared family.

In our desire to become prepared, we found that preparedness is a way of life, rather than a list of supplies to buy or skills to acquire.  Preparedness requires logical thought, troubleshooting skills, planning, a perserverant attitude and most of all a reliance on God.

Preparedness requires that you identify what you are preparing for.  Despite common thought among some experts in preparedness, it is impossible to prepare for every eventuality.  This is where the phrase "know your enemy" comes in to play.  You need to carefully examine your situation and determine who your enemy is.  For example, do you live in hurricane country?  Do you live in an area that is frequented by firestorms?  What about extreme cold or heat?  Are you in a large urban area that has a high possibility of civil unrest?  Is it possible that you could lose your job tomorrow?  Could circumstances render you unable to afford food and water for your family?  And then there are the big scary threats.  Nuclear war, bio/chemical threats, martial law - basically the scariest parts of the bible.

Once you have identified the most likely potential threats to you and your family, then you can begin your preparedness planning and preparation.  Things to consider are food storage, water storage/purification, defense, power systems, medical necessities, hygiene, charity and spiritual encouragement.  You need to begin to acquire skills that will facilitate your long term survival - animal husbandry, gardening, cooking with stored foods, hunting and fishing, mechanic-ing, alternative energy, communications, canning and food preservation, and weapons skills, to name a few.  Every new tool or skill you acquire, you must put into practice.  It is not enough to have the tools, you must know how to use them.  Buying a back-up generator is great, but if the generator is faulty and doesn't work under a load, it is useless.  If you buy a Ham radio and get your license, but don't use it regularly, you can be guaranteed that you will push the wrong button, adjust the frequency incorrectly, forget what all of the controls do and you will be completely incommunicado.  Use it. Use it.  Use it!

Why should you be prepared?  You should be prepared because there may be a hurricane, fire, flood or snowstorm in a neighborhood near you.  You should be prepared because the economy may tank leaving you jobless and homeless.  You should be prepared because our government may spiral out of control and render our population little better off than slaves.

Preparedness is not just for people that are holing up waiting for the end of the world.  Preparedness is for people who want to be self-reliant, self-sufficient and not dependant on the government.  Preparedness is for people who want to protect their families.  Preparedness is for people who see the signs of the times.  Preparedness is for you.

You might be married to Burt if......

I was talking to my husband the other evening, and I noticed a certain eerie resemblance between him and the character of Burt in the iconic survival flick "Tremors".  Now, I am not advocating that you run out and see the movie (it has terrible language, for starters), but for those of you who have seen it, these comparisons will give you a glimpse into our lives!

As I listened to myself and my husband talk, I noticed some startling discoveries.  Here are some of my observations.

You might be married to Burt if........

1.  Your idea of buying precious metals is investing not in gold and silver but in lead and brass.

2.  You actually believe that "Dillion Blue" is an acceptable living room color.

3.  You think a Barrett Light .50 is a nice carry piece.

4.  You know that "plastic is not an oxygen barrier".

5.  Your pastor's entire survival plan is making it to your house alive.

6.  You know the difference between a magazine and a clip.

7.  You find you really are attracted to Hoppe's #9.

8.  Your idea of a "dirty magazine" has nothing to do with nude women.

9.  You think an MRE is one of the four food groups.

10. When looking at real estate, your first requirement is "geographic isolation".

11.  You know the difference between standard "hollow points" and "Hydra-shock hollow points"

12.  You stock supplies of "a few household chemicals in the proper proportions".

13.  You don't count ammunition by rounds, but by cases.

14.  Your favorite color is OD (Olive Drab if you have to ask).

15. When company comes over, your first thought is "troop rations".

So, there you have it.  I think I am married to Burt!

NOT your 1930's Depression

Sunday, May 30, 2010

NOT your 1930's Depression

We have some wonderful, preparedness minded friends that live close by.  They raise cattle (about 60 head), grow a huge, beautiful garden, have a large flock of chickens and can and freeze copious amounts of food.  They feel like they are sitting pretty, and justifiably so.  They are capable, hard working, God fearing country women.  Why do I worry?  They have one .22 rifle and a small caliber varmint rifle.  Between both of them (a mother and daughter), they have about 50 rounds of ammo.

In their enviable position, they assume they can barter for just about anything they need that they don't already produce.  My concern is that this isn't 1930.  People aren't interested in trading work for food.  They aren't interested in trading one commodity for another.  The people of the 2000's are interested in being given something for nothing.  In 1930, a down-on-his-luck fella from the city would have knocked on their door looking to exchange a little fencing for a bowl of soup.  In 2010, the punks knocking on their door won't be interested in either their fences or their bowl of soup.  They will want it all.  And they won't be asking politely.  A .22 and a varmint rifle, with 50 rounds of ammunition won't be much of a deterrent, either.

The Katrina fiasco is a perfect case in point.  People became  hostile almost immediately.  Grocery stores, equipped with a 3 day supply of food, quickly emptied.  Looting began well before anyone could have become truly hungry.  They weren't simply trying to feed hungry families.  They were looting and destroying for no other reason than because they could.  We have a nation full of angry, indolent people just looking for a reason kill and destroy.  A natural disaster, TEOTWAWKI, WTSHTF or any other number of scenarios is perfect fodder for these gang members in the making.

We preparedness types aren't simply trying store appropriate foods, medicines and toiletries for hard times.  We HAVE to be aware of the necessity of defending our stores and our families.  We can't naively assume that people will take "no" for an answer and meekly go on their way.  This isn't the 1930's.  People aren't going to ask.  They are going to form gangs and they are going to take what they want by force.  Are you prepared to let them?  Men, are you prepared to watch your wives and daughters be raped and killed?  Women, are you prepared to watch your husband be slaughtered while you cower behind the door jamb?  Are you prepared to go the long way around a roadblock set up by bandits so the next hapless folks that stumble into the ambush are killed, just so you don't get your hands "dirty" by taking care of the business at hand?  I, for one, am not.  I will not see my daughters raped, my husband slaughtered or my sons used for target practice.  I, for one, will defend what God has blessed me with.  This is not the 1930's.  We WILL have to stand up and defend our food, our children, our very lives.

As preparedness types, you will have to know what the days ahead hold.  You will have to deal with the harsh realities of life.  You will have to know what YOU are willing to do.  You will have to be ready to stand and fight or lay down and die.