Gone Fishin'

Actually, I went fishing on Saturday. As with shooting, I am trying to quickly improve my skills in a number of key areas, and one of the important ones is fishing.

I hadn't been fishing on a lake since 1991, on a week-long trip where I literally caught nothing. But I bought myself an inexpensive reel (a Zebco 33 at Wal-Mart) and was determined to try out a few of the local ponds.

I got out bright and early -- six o'clock, when it was still dark. I fished with rubber lures until about nine, when I took a break and got some live bait at a local convenience store. I got a much better response with live bait; manny nibbles and a few bites. I caught two fish before I knocked off about noontime; a small chain pickerel and a crappie, neither whom were big enough to keep, though in a survival situation, they'd have gone into the pot. The pickerel was a fierce little guy, and he showed me his mouth full of sharp little teeth as I removed the hook very carefully.

A good experience; I learned a lot. My casting got better as the day went on, though I was hampered by a lack of real sinkers and the prepackaged hooks in the kit were a little bit week. I've remedied that with a trip to Dick's sporting goods, where I picked up some good old fashioned lead sinkers, a few swivels, and a package of 100 #6 hooks. I'm going to try to get out once or twice more before winter; I'll take the time to set up some good Texas style rigs before I head out. One of the larger local ponds is stocked with trout at the end of September, so hopefully I'll catch something real. Practice mkes perfect.

Bought Some of These

Bought a can of these today. We'll see how they work, maybe next spring.

Going Shooting

A little early morning shooting today, I think . . . more later.

UPDATE: Shooting was awesome. I got the .308 zeroed, and put about 40 rounds downrange. It's a bit hard on the shoulder, but man, it's a real railgun. I also shot its little brother, the .22, which was a lot of fun. On the way home, stopped at Wal Mart and replenished (and added to) my ammo. Most fun I've had shooting in a long time.

A Good Walk

I've been trying to get some practice in with my bug-out bag. This last Sunday I did about a 3 mile walk with it to get used to it. I was an infantryman when I was in my twenties, so I have done this before, but sitting in front of a computer working for twenty years has a way of taking the edge off. While I haven't completely turned into a jelly donut, it was a good reminder that I need to get out and walk with a pack on from time to time.

As a kid I grew up reading Tolkien, and for some reason I guess I thought that my adult life would involve a lot of walking places with a pack. It hasn't. Other than a few years in the Army, I haven't really led an outdoor life. The fact that I'm good with computers has meant that my work has been indoors in air-conditioned comfort and under artificial light. I suppose I thought I'd be engaged in more quests.

Well, it's amazing how even a short walk can revive a sense of adventure. Walking through my town, rather than riding through it, has given me a new appreciation of the scale of things. There are many patches of forest -- little worlds unto themselves. As I walked I mentally was taking notes of a surroundings -- there is a pond where there might be fish; there is a good place to pitch a tent, there is a good place to hide from Black Riders.

I'm going to be doing more of this in the future. It's a lot of fun, and its helping me get back in shape.

RIP, Mrs. Rawles

James Wesley, Rawles, who is probably the single most influential survival blogger, lost his wife today. She will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Some Good Hard Prep

Today, I:

1. Reorganized my bug-out bag. I included some new items, including some 10lb monofilament fishing line and hooks, a multitool, a and a canteen with canteen cup (the latter for cooking). The things I know I'm missing in it are a flashlight and a shaving kit.

2. Bought some more food for my cellar, using my nifty new 90 day rule I outlined earlier.

3. Updated all my spreadsheets, including the ones for ammo, wine, food, and silver.

4. Filled my gas tank. I am trying to get a little more fanatical about topping off. My tentative bug out location should my current abode provide insufficient protection from mutant bikers, albino vampires, fast and/or slow zombies, etc. is at the far end of my fuel range. If you include a few running shootouts while trying to keep the bad guys away from whomever I'm protecting (my wife, the Keymaker, the midget who knows how to refine mee-thane, etc.), with or without the help of Whirlybird man (dammit, where are you, Whirlybird man?) -- well, let's just say I've concluded I need to keep the gas tank full.



I hate bug-out scenarios . . .

Following Things To a Logical Conclusion

One of the things I'm trying to do in my preparation is to follow things to a logical conclusion. Here's an example.

I worry a great deal about EMP. When I first read William Forstchen's One Second After and then read the government's report on EMP, I was floored. My first reaction was "Why hasn't this happened already?" One airburst nuclear weapon, properly calibrated, could take out much of the electrical infrastructure and computer networks of the United States. We have enemies in the world, and we also have some unprincipled rivals. It must be an awfully tempting thought for them that with one blow, the U.S. could be removed as a major power. Naturally, there would be risk of consequences, but if a nation state could create enough doubt about the origin of such an attack, it might effectively decapitate us before the orders to retaliate could be given.

So when I evaluate TEOTWAWKI scenarios, EMP is one of the main ones I think about.

I work in a town some 40+ miles from my home. If an EMP strike were to occur while I was at work, this means I'd have to walk home (my prep is too valuable to walk away from to consider simply hunkering down where I work). Since my wife and I commute together, this means we'd both have to walk home.

So what follows? 40 miles is too far to go in a day, and we don't have friends along the route. This means we'd be camping out for at least one night (I think two, because I'd want to go slowly and avoid dangerous encounters with other people). In addition, we work on the far side of a fairly large city. We'd have to face a choice early on -- walk through it or go around it. There's no doubt in my mind we'd try to go around it.

So just from these observations, it became clear to me that a bug-out bag must be in the car at all times. The bug-out bag has to be equipped to support a three day walk. It needs to contain a shelter, a means of starting a fire, and a supply of water. It needs to have a change of socks and comfortable walking shoes. It needs a medical kit. It needs a compass and some very good maps of the terrain in between work and home. It might need weapons. In short, I need to envision what might happen on the three-day adventure it will take to get home, and take reasonable steps to ensure I'd be prepared.

From a simple thought -- "An EMP event is possible and must be considered" -- comes a lot of preparation. Get the first things right and everything else follows logically.

More Prep

Since I've integrated prep into my daily routines, I usually manage to do something prep related every day. I certainly work my supply spreadsheets pretty hard if nothing else. This week, I added 3 more ounces of silver to my hoard (American Eagles), bought a .22 rifle (a Savage Mark II GL, which is like a scaled down version of my .308), added ammo, and got some old expired food off the books. I'll go food shopping in the next day or so to increase my supply of staples. Hopefully this weekend I'll get some shooting in.

I'm also just about through reading F.A. Hayek's Road to Serfdom; I'll hopefully get a review of it done. The key insight of it, in my mind, is that Hayek explains why markets work better than command economies -- it is a simple matter of information. Markets have much more information in them than do command economies because a market records the decisions of millions of participants. In a command economy, the only piece of information that matters is whatever insane thought has passed through Kim Jong Il's head this morning. It's a really good point, and is extremely relevant when considering government policy. When the government decides, it is doing so as a very imperfect actor.

Remote Weekend

Well, Friday morning I put a few rounds downrange, but I had only a little time to do so before work. My sights still need adjustment; I figure an afternoon with about 50 rounds of ammo, shooting nice and slow, and I'll be all set. .308 win has many virtues; it will wear out your shoulder, though. I'm still sore from Friday's shooting.

Spent the weekend up in Northern New Hampshire at a friend's. They live in what was once the Indian Stream Republic. It's a pretty part of the state, with the Connecticut lakes dominating the landscape. Good hunting and fishing country, crossed with snowmobile trails in winter. Came home through the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, which to me is probably the best area of Vermont from a TEOTWAWKI survivability point of view.

Beautiful country; I want to relocate more than ever. My wife is not ready, though.

When I got home, I went through my woodpile. Some of it proved to be termite loaded and reduced to compost; I've gone through it and separated the good from the bad. I have some beautiful hickory that I've begun to split that has been drying for a couple of years that I'll try to keep fresh.

I've also come up with a new set of rules for managing my food inventory.

1. If you're taking the item out of storage and the expiration is more than 90 days away, replace with 2 of the same item next time you shop.

2. If you're taking the item out of storage and the expiration is within 90 days, replace with one of the same item next time you shop.

3. If you're taking the item out of storage and it has expired, do not replace until you are in either a rule 1 or rule 2 situation. If you're not likely to use the item in 6 months, or if it is a seasonal item only, do not replace it.

We'll see how it works.

The Rifle Is In

Going to the range to zero it this morning. Mounted a scope on it myself last night; we'll see if I did it properly this morning.

Savage 14 American Classic, left handed, chambered in .308 Winchester.