07:10 – The great ammunition shortage seems to be ending, other than .22 rimfire, which is still hard to find and extremely expensive. Bricks of 500 selling for $50! Ten cents a round is outrageous, but the problem is that ammunition makers aren’t willing to build expensive new plants to address what they consider a temporary shortage. They’re working around the clock on existing production lines, but they’re not going to build any new ones.
Interestingly, most common rifle and pistol calibers are readily available at high but not outrageous prices. I just saw one site, for example, that was selling Russian steel-case .223/5.56 in bulk at 22 cents a round, and even name-brand US-made brass-case .223/5.56 was available for not much more than 30 cents a round in bulk. I also found .40S&W cheap stuff for about 23 cents a round, which was cheaper even than .38 Special. At some point, if we start shooting a lot of pistol at the range, I may get us each a .40S&W just to be able to use the cheaper ammunition. I suppose it makes sense that .40S&W is cheap, given that the federal government buys the stuff literally by the ton. I’d guess that ammo makers probably have production lines devoted exclusively to that caliber, so it makes sense that they’d have a lot of overruns to get rid of, keeping prices down. Barbara and I both like to shoot, and we’ll probably be doing a lot more of that once we get relocated.
The latest thing in shooting ranges seems to be “guntry clubs“, which apparently appeal particularly to young people and women and even liberals. Fine. I’m in favor of anything that encourages people to take up shooting as a hobby, even those ridiculous pink pistols. But I’d really rather shoot at a range that’s intended for Good Old Boys who drink plain old coffee and would be flummoxed by Starbuck’s offerings. One of the gun stores in Jefferson that we drove past is also an old-fashioned diner, which is more my speed.
My time this week was occupied almost exclusively on science kits, but I did spend some time in the evenings doing prepping research.
- I spent a lot of time researching relocation issues. I now know more than I ever wanted to know about Internet service availability in Ashe County. Standard copper-cable service is available in some scattered areas. Fiber broadband up to 1 Gb/s is available in much of the northern through southwest areas of the county, although the service map looks kind of like a doughnut, with no service in towns of Jefferson and West Jefferson. The fiber infrastructure is being built out under a federal grant, and I suspect the terms of that grant mandated bringing service to the remote areas of the county before they deployed fiber in the towns.
- I read four or five PA novels, all of which sucked except Ken Benton’s SurviRal, which I bought a week ago on Jen’s recommendation when it was on sale for $0.99. Despite the hokey title, it was actually decent. That author released his second PA novel three weeks or so ago, so I’ll get it as well. Oddly, his two PA novels are not the beginning of a series. The second one has a complete different location, set of characters, etc.
- I read a half dozen prepping-related non-fiction titles, including one on solar power that was written by an engineer and looked that way. Right now, we have just enough gear to keep a bunch of NiMH rechargeables charged to power things like radios, LED flashlights and lanterns, and so on. If we end up in a house that depends on well water, I want to have sufficient capacity to power a well pump, which is one reason I’d prefer a spring as our water source. That’s pretty common up in Ashe county.
- I was able to get an hour or so in on the prepping book, mostly just jotting down notes about stuff I want to write about in detail. I emailed Pournelle yesterday to ask him if he had time to write a Foreward for me. Couldn’t hurt sales to have his name on the cover as well as mine.
Neither Barbara nor I has ever lived in a home that didn’t have municipal water and sewer, so there are a lot of things we don’t know. For example, my reading tells me that a lot of wells have over-size pumps installed. They might have a 1-hp or 3/4-hp pump installed where a 1/2-hp or even 1/4-hp would be more than sufficient. That doesn’t matter much when you’re on utility power, but it makes a huge difference if you need to drive the pump on solar power. The start-up current draw with one of the large pumps may be two to four times what it would be on a smaller pump, which means you need a much larger, more expensive inverter to meet the current demands of the larger pump. If we end up with a well rather than a spring house, I’ll probably buy a smaller well pump and put it on the shelf. They’re not that expensive, and it’d be a good idea to have a spare, just in case.
So, what precisely did you do to prep this week? Tell me about it in the comments.
11:28 – In praise of mature women. FTA:
“We have to tolerate young girls because we need them to breed. Outside of that, they’re pretty much worthless until they get some laugh lines and a couple crow’s-feet.”
Just the other night, Barbara and I were watching a program that featured Sasha Alexander, who was in her late 20’s at the time, and Jessica Steen (Lisa on Heartland), who was in her late 30’s. No comparison. Jessica Steen is a much more attractive woman, and that remains true now that she’s about to turn 50 years old. Mature women rock.
Higher capacity pumps permit a smaller pressure tank. Without going into the basement to check, I think our pressure tank is on the order of 12-15 gallons, with a plastic membrane between the water and air sections.
If you need large quantities of water, such as for a long hot shower in the morning, particularly assuming you don’t have the restriction head shower, the pressure tank water and air pressure will quickly drop below the pump turn on level. If the pump can’t keep up with the shower flow, then pressure will drop, which may range from being a minor inconvenience to a royal pain in the ass, depending on the amount of drop.
One solution would be a larger pressure tank that can slowly be recharged from a lower power pump.
Also consider whether the well water may require treatment. Our raw water (200 ft well in Northern Virginia) is acidic, has fine sediment and iron. Consequently, we’ve found it necessary to use a two-stage limestone acid neutralizer system, which brings the ph up to 7, but makes the water extremely hard. That required a follow on zeolite softener. The limestone neutralizer does a good job at removing most of the sediment, but must be followed up with a 50 micron “whole house” filter to take care of the fine particles. To help with the iron, we use an “iron away” salt in the brine tank that backflushes the softener tank and regenerates the zeolite. I think regular softener salt with a bit of added citric acid would do the job as well.
One consequence of acidic water is that metal fittings ahead of the neutralizer can be corroded and consequently leak. The brass poly pipe to NPT adapter that connects the well output tubing to the pressure tank, for example, lasts about 10 years before it develops pinhole leaks.
My late parents house had so much iron content that it was necessary to add a potassium permanganate treatment stage as well.
Given your chemical lab setup, I would take samples of water from any house you look at and analyze them for mineral content. For anyone that doesn’t have a basement chem lab, visit your local pet supply store and pick up an inexpensive water analysis test kit for fresh water aquarium analysis.
Thanks. That’s exactly the kinds of things I need to learn about. The house that Barbara and I were about to put in an offer on has a smallish pressure tank, I’m guessing about the same size as yours. A quick check of Home Depot shows that 80 gallon and larger tanks can be purchased for $260 and up, which we’d probably do.
I’d probably just pay a lab to do the water analysis because I really don’t have time to do it myself right now. My ideal would be municipal water with a spring or stream on the property just in case. As it happens, one of the homes we’ll be looking at on our next trip up meets those requirements.
If you were to get a house with a well you need to have the well tested for flow. Where I lived in Oregon we were on well water. However the well did not provide enough flow to take two relatively short showers in quick succession. Why my uncle never had the well drilled deeper I don’t know.
The last two years I lived on the place we changed the water source to a spring located about 300 yards up the side of a hill. There was an existing cistern but we had to run pipe from the cistern to the house. Put in a valve assembly that would allow us to use the well or the spring.
My uncle never would have a hydrologist come out and see if the flow from the spring could be increased. He thought he knew everything about the spring. After he sold the place the new owners had the spring examined. Turned out that drilling down about 30 feet an artesian spring was encountered beneath some rock layer. The spring was capable of producing several hundred gallons of very clean water a minute. The water was suitable for drinking without any treatment.
It would have been enough water to irrigate the entire property without having to run that 30 HP pump six months out of the year which pumped water from the creek on the lower end of the property. It also would have allowed my uncle to sell his water rights from the creek which were worth a considerable sum (the new owners did sell them).
Any time you are dealing with a well or spring it is best to have an expert provide the answers and not guess.
Have you considered reloading? When I was a competitive pistol shooter a few ice ages ago, that’s what I did. I even cast bullets, but I know nowadays that’s not economical. But, reloading? All my friends still seem to do it. Some even have progressive and even more automated loaders, so there must be some good economics in it, right?
Thanks. I’ll take that advice as well.
I have been able to find .22 for about $0.06 a round, usually in the 325 count boxes, when it shows up at a big retailer (Walmart or Dick’s). But you have to watch and pounce before it disappears. It is always available at my local gun shop but at $50-$70/brick. For the larger calibers I have been phasing in reloading.
On the prepping front I installed 4 100W solar panels on my shed roof. They feed a few golf cart batteries and 2000W inverter. Yesterday I generated 972Wh on a mostly sunny day. I guess my absolute max will be 1200Wh on a perfect summer sunny day. Probably half that in the winter. Not much but it will run lights and chargers and my gas furnace.
I have been researching alternate sources of heat if the gas stops flowing in the winter. I was planning an indoor propane heater and a few 20# bottles. Unfortunately indoor propane heaters are not legal in MA.
I used to reload from economic necessity. There were days when I went through > 1,000 rounds of .45 ACP, so I spent a fair amount of time with the Star progressive press.
I also did a fair amount of shooting automatic weapons, which chew through ammo like you wouldn’t believe. In those, I shot mostly military surplus ammo from the WWII era, so I didn’t reload for them,
I remember a conversation I had back in about 1978 with Mel Tappan. He commented that firepower was hitting what you aimed at, not peppering the landscape with near misses. And that’s indisputable, other than in military situations where sheer volume of fire has a quality all its own. They’re great fun to shoot, but I have no desire to own any selective fire weapons. In addition to everything else, I can’t afford to feed them.
But I will have a reloading bench with dies and consumables for all of our standard calibers–5.56mm/.223, 7.62mm/.308, .45 ACP, .38/.357 Mag, .44 Special, and 12 gauge. Even carbide dies don’t cost too much, so I’ll probably include them and at least some consumables for calibers we don’t currently use like 7.62×39, 9mm, .40S&W, and so on.
Yeah, I’d say that about 1 KW/hr from four 100W panels on a mostly sunny day is about what I’d expect at your latitude. Is your inverter large enough to handle the startup current draw from your furnace fan?
Have you seen this Mr. Heater Massachusetts/Canada version?
http://smile.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F274865-Massachusetts-Canada-Portable/dp/B005EEYBI4/
Yes. I tested it. The heating system is steam and radiators, all passive. The fan is only for the venting and is quite small.
Thanks for the heater link. I didn’t realize there was a MA compliant version.
I grew up in the Midwest, but forgot how simple wells were there. Here in the desert, water is deep, and high hp submersible pumps are needed just to get the water to a surface atmospheric pressure tank that also has a connection for firefighting, and is typically 1000 gallons or more. Then, there is a smaller pressure pump that charges a pressure tank to serve the house. People who have this setup have to size a solar system accordingly.
Although we have earthquakes, thunderstorms and lightning are rare, and tornadoes are practically impossible. Even our infamous flash floods are usually confined to well-known locations. Very different kind of place.
Is reloaded ammo as reliable or nearly so as ammo that comes out of a factory?
All this talk about bullets reminded me that I needed to fix the bullets on your list.
So I did the magic incantation that did that. Your bullets are now lined up with the top of each ‘bullet paragraph’.
Also did the WordPress update, which is important for anyone that runs a WP site.
“Mature women rock.”
Some do, some don’t. Diane Keaton is a textbook example of one who does.
“Is reloaded ammo as reliable or nearly so as ammo that comes out of a factory?”
Yes, if you know what you’re doing and do it right, particularly for reloads you did recently. Some military ammo uses either crimping or varnishing to seal the primer against moisture. In fact that’s one of PITAs about reloading fired military cases. You have to deburr the primer pockets very carefully if they were originally crimp-sealed.
But I’ve also known reloaders who seal their primers with varnish or even nail polish, so it’s really a matter of how much time and effort you’re willing to spend on the job.
I think in all the many thousands of reload rounds I’ve fired I’ve experienced only a couple of misfires, which were probably faulty primers. At any rate, if you’re an experienced shooter, you get used to clearing jams and FTFs without a second thought.
@Rick Hellewell
Thanks. I just noticed that there was a WP update available, so you saved me a click.
My prepping this week has centered around the family’s computers in preparation for Windows 10. I had enough old spare laptop drives that I did a clone of each computer. Then each has been imaged to a local NAS and 2 cloud services. The images are scheduled for incremental backups every night. Overkill? Probably, but even though this “free” Windows 10 “upgrade” is supposed to be rock solid and painless, that has never been the case so I take Microsoft’s and the Tech Gurus’ assurances with a grain of salt. Supposedly we are going to be able to delay the “update” to Windows 10, but anyone who believes that is asking for trouble.
Too coincidental, big signs in all the stores around here that sell ammunition: “No 22LR ammunition”.
Regarding wells, you had better check who has the water and mineral rights below your land and where does it start. Most bulk property sales that have been done in the last 30 years or so, the Realtor has sold all the water and mineral rights and then sold the land on top. Many states have also declared control over all water, surface and subterranean regardless of previous rights. The wonderful power of the State (Local, State, and Federal). That has reared its ugly head here in Washington State with this year’s drought conditions. Farmers here in Central and Eastern Washington are unable to draw enough water from wells they thought they had rights to.
Keep your powder dry.
Apropos nothing (I’ll read y’alls comments later) there’s obviously no genetic component to race. Nothing. It’s purest coincidence that the 100 meter race I am watching, amongst European countries, consists entirely of black athletes.
Or is that a racist observation?
I call it natural selection 😉
There might be another ammunition shortage if the feds keep ordering in these quantities:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hoover-dam-lake-mead-officers-203106535.html
That MA compliant propane heater differs from the non-compliant model only in labeling; it says “not for indoor use”. If I use it and something goes wrong my homeowners insurance wouldn’t cover me. Alas.
A proper wood burning stove installation is probably out of my budget right now. I’ll get some estimates from local contractors to find out a range. Any suggestions from the Daynotes Braintrust?
Woodburning stove, only this:we have a masonry stove with hundreds of pounds of brick. The thermal mass is lovely: light it the night before, and have a toasty warm breakfast the next day.
Regarding wells, you had better check who has the water and mineral rights below your land and where does it start.
In Colorado it starts aboveground. You are not allowed to catch rainwater in a barrel or other container.
re young women and such, I’ve mentioned before my considered opinion that teenage girls are the most annoying things on the face of the planet. Some years ago I annoyed the crap out of a bunch of people — Now, I know what you’re thinking: Steve annoyed anyone? Surely this cannot be! But let me assure you it’s true. Anyway, I annoyed the crap out of a bunch of people by stating that middle-aged men who fantasize about getting younger girlfriends, especially teenage girlfriends, have to be insane because the girls are so annoying. No, no teenage girlfriends for me. I’m going to get myself a pre-teen girlfriend.
In about five sentences I managed to annoy or offend about two dozen people: teenagers, parents of teenagers, parents of preteen girls, miscellaneous other middle-aged men and women, and most especially my wife. The adults were all yuppy scum, for what it’s worth, and all or most of them had known me for years. About the only people who didn’t seem pissed off were a couple of preteen girls, who already knew me and who came over to chat. I’m pretty sure they were just coming over to tell me they thought it was funny, and weren’t flirting and checking out their chances, but I’m so obtuse I can’t rule it out. And anyway their mothers came and pulled them away in short order, which I found hilarious.
They might have a 1-hp or 3/4-hp pump installed where a 1/2-hp or even 1/4-hp would be more than sufficient. That doesn’t matter much when you’re on utility power, but it makes a huge difference if you need to drive the pump on solar power.
My 3 hp well pump pulls 14 amps on 220 volts when pumping water up that is about 160 ft down. It pulls 10 amps when the water level has dropped below the pump.
How do I know this? That is why I have a new well and a new pump since the old pump melted the old well piping trying to pump air up the two inch pipe. The old well is retired in place since a one ton truck crane could not jerk it out of the hole. The new well is about 10 ft away from the old well.
The drillers think that the old well pump is about 100 ft down. The new well pump is 160 ft down, in the third sand layer that they tested to be able to flow at 70 gpm. When they drilled the new well, the water rose to 80 ft below the surface on its own. So, the new well was 80 ft below the surface of the water. I have no idea where the water level is now, I suspect way lower since the farmers around here drilled massive wells during the drought. It costs $1,200 to get a water level check since they have to pull the pump. It costs $9,800 for a new well and pump.
I have a 200 gallon pressurization tank that turns the well pump on at 45 psig and turns the well pump off at 65 psig.
“Why Obama and Hillary Must Stop Donald Trump at All Costs”
http://www.rootforamerica.com/webroot/blog/2015/07/07/why-obama-and-hillary-must-stop-donald-trump-at-all-costs/
“Someone is getting very nervous. Obama. Valerie Jarrett. Eric Holder. Hillary Clinton. Jon Corzine…to name just a few. And I know why.”
…
“Billionaire tycoon and maverick Donald Trump doesn’t need anyone’s help. That means he doesn’t care what the media says. He doesn’t care what the corporate elites think. That makes him very dangerous to the entrenched interests. That makes Trump a huge threat. Trump can ruin everything for the bribed politicians and their spoiled slavemasters.”
…
“Trump’s election would be a nightmare. Obama has committed many crimes. No one else but Donald would dare to prosecute. Donald Trump will not hesitate. Once Donald gets in and gets a look at “the cooked books” and Obama’s records, the game is over. The gig is up. The goose is cooked.”
“Eric Holder could wind up in prison. Valerie Jarrett could wind up in prison. Obama bundler Jon Corzine could wind up in prison for losing $1.5 billion of customer money.”
“Hillary Clinton could wind up in jail for deleting 32,000 emails …or accepting bribes from foreign governments while Secretary of State …or for “misplacing” $6 billion as head of State Department …or for lying about Benghazi.”
Wow, if this a paranoid rant then it is a good one.
Trump 2016!
Mature women rock.
The older I get, the wider the age range of women I find attractive. When I was 18, there were few 40 year old women who I found attractive. Now that I’m in my 60’s, there are a lot more. The younger ones still are attractive to me, although I’m not going to chase after them.
Rick in Portland
BTW, I am fairly sure that I have mentioned before that Boone, NC is the focal point in this prepper series about the Superpox-99 virus:
http://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Justice-Survivalist-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00CYR3Z2W/
Brad wrote:
“Or is that a racist observation?”
I follow some European soccer clubs (Arsenal and Real Madrid in particular) and they all use imports, many from Africa. I’d like to see clubs restricted to at most two foreigners at once. Arsenal seems to have very few home grown players, they now buy players at quite exorbitant prices and pay them insano “wages”.
Saw a hand lettered sign by Interstate 5 in northern California yesterday that said “.22 long rifle ammo available.”
Wonder if it is still true. Personally, I don’t trust those hand lettered signs YMMV.
Wonder if it is still true. Personally, I don’t trust those hand lettered signs YMMV.
Depends how many bullet holes are in them.