Saturday 1/4/14 – Hite Hollow

My resolution for the new year was to get out and do some more shooting this year and I started out strong.  I spent the first Saturday of 2014 out at the Hite Hollow range near Staunton, Va.  My neighbor had a new pistol to shoot so we loaded everything up and headed out.

I was very surprised at how well I did.  Considering I hadn’t shot any of my rifles in months, I was lucky I could even hit the target.  I really don’t like to let skills sit idle for that long, but I guess it was ok this time.  I managed some pretty tight groups with my two 22 pistols and was hitting extremely accurate with my AR at 50 yards with both 22lr and .223.

The only gun I shot poorly was my neighbor’s pistol.  I don’t think that’s a personal failure either as the gun is nearly the size of my head and I could barely wrap my hand around the grip.  At about 7 yards I was hitting the target close enough to be considered deadly, but the time and effort involved in lining each shot up would definitely have cost me dearly in a real-world situation.  I will definitely need more practice with a gun this size if I intend to ever use one, but for now I think I’ve decided that a 45 just might not be for me.

My SKS, as I expected, was the most fun to shoot.  There’s just something about the 7.62 round being fired from a gun with some wood on it that I really enjoy.  I would love to try shooting an AK47, but I’ll settle with the SKS for now.  It doesn’t kick, its very accurate (even with open sights), and it just looks so cool.  I used to consider my AR to be my #1 choice if things got bad, just because it can shoot two types of ammo.  I think I might be starting to change my mind.  After all, that Bayonet will be very handy when the zombies come . . .

 

My Local Range Has Closed

I received a letter in the mail a few weeks back letting me know that my local shooting range, to which I was a member, was closing its doors.  They were kind enough to reimburse me for the remaining time left on my membership but nevertheless it was pretty sad to hear.

I hadn’t been going as much lately with all the changes in my life, so maybe their closing was partly my fault.  Maybe it was the ammo craze that drove gun owners everywhere to hoard ammo instead of using it.  Maybe it was the economy.  I don’t know.

What I do know is that I will now have to travel at least 45 minutes any time I want to shoot at an actual range.  My dad’s house is only 15 minutes away and I can shoot there whenever I want, but sometimes an actual range is just much better.

If you’re lucky enough to have a range in your area, get out there and show them your support.  Let them know you want them to stay around and that you find what they have to offer very enriching.  And spread the good word to other gun owners so that business can improve.  If the ranges all close and we have nowhere to shoot out guns, how will we maintain our shooting skills?  For some of us, living in isolated rural areas just isn’t an option.

Urban Survival Day 40 – Pick a Lock

One of my favorite skills in games like Skyrim is lockpicking.  It gets you into places you wouldn’t normally be allowed to go.  It also helps open chests full of gold and other valuables.  Lockpicking could do the same in real life if you’re ever in a survival situation.

40)  Pick a Lock

“It’s not hard to pick a lock of the pin-and-tumbler variety”.  While I agree that its not hard compared to other types, picking any lock is challenging.  Otherwise we wouldn’t even bother with locks.  But if you want to learn to pick a lock, these are the ones to practice on.  “The trick is pushing the pins up one at a time until they’re no longer blocking the cylinder’s ability to rotate.  When all the pins are out of the way, presto:  The tumbler turns, the lock opens, and you’re in”.  Yep, that’s all there is to it . . .

Armed with a “tension wrench and a pick from a lock-picking tool set” or a couple of bobby pins, here’s what the book says you should do:

Step One:  Insert the wrench into the keyhole and determine which way the cylinder rotates to unlock.  It’ll give a little bit when turned the correct way.  Keep applying pressure to the wrench to keep the cylinder held open that fraction of an inch.

Step Two:  Insert the pick into the keyhole above the wrench, and find the pins locking the cylinder in place.  Start with the farthest pin, pushing it up until you hear a click-that sound means the pin has been pushed out of the way.

Step Three:  Repeat with the rest of the pins until they’ve all been pushed out of the cylinder.  Give the wrench a twist and voila!

Step Four:  Use the wrench or bobby pin to turn the cylinder and open the lock.

As a disclaimer, never attempt to pick a lock that doesn’t belong to you.  Locks are meant to keep you out and opening the lock without permission may land you in jail.  Nevertheless, lockpicking is a skill that is good to have in case society ever falls; odds are everyone will be keeping food and supplies locked up tight.

Has anyone ever tried picking a lock?  I have, and its certainly not as easy as they make it sound.  Even armed with proper tools (from a kit I bought online) I’ve only successfully opened one lock.  It is definitely a skill that requires a lot of practice.

Urban Survival Day 38 – Build an Outlet Safe

Hope everyone had a good Easter.  Mine was pretty relaxing and all I seemed to do was eat (I’m not complaining) but tomorrow we start the work week once again.  Maybe today’s tip will give you a project you can work on throughout the week to make things less dull.

38)  Build an Outlet Safe

If you don’t have the luxury of owning a wall safe, why not build yourself a smaller, less expensive version?  Outlet safes are affordable and easy to install.  And hiding your valuables behind what looks like an electrical outlet will fool most people.  Here are the steps recomended in the book, Urban Survival Guide, by Rich Johnson:

Get your parts:  Find your local hardware store and get “a faceplate, a residential-grade volt receptacle, a cut-in-box, and sme roofing nails and washers”.
Cut your hole:  Trace your “cut-in-box” on the wall where you wish to install it.  Using a drywall saw, cut out the hole.
Insert your box:  Insert your cut-in-box into the hole and fill it with whatever valuables you wish to hide.
Prepare the receptacle:  The receptacle has a hole on both the top and bottom.  Slide the nails through your washers and then through these holes.
Attach the receptacle:  “Attach the receptacle to the box by sliding the nails into the [cut-in-box’s] top and bottom holes”.
Cover with the faceplate:  “Screw the faceplate onto the receptacle”.

There you have it.  This week while you’re out and about, grab the supplies you need and get to work.  I’m lucky enough to have a full sized safe in my home, but for those of you who don’t this is certainly an economical method to secure your small valuables.

Urban Survival Day 37 – Make a DIY Alarm

Finally finished the second season of Game of Thrones tonight and I am eagerly awaiting the start of season three tomorrow.  Such an interesting show with so many characters.  Its one of my favorite shows by far.  Its certainly a good escape from real world problems (economy, earthquakes, drought, North Korea, etc).  Moving on . . .

37)  Make a DIY Alarm

“Burglars want to enter silently, burgle quietly, and then leave without a sound”.  Don’t give them that ability.  Home security systems are pretty expensive, but that shouldn’t stop you from securing your home.  After all, Kevin was left home alone and still managed to defend against two determined, albeit stupid, burglars.  Here are some things the book suggests you do in order to secure your home:

• Protect Outside:  Before a criminal reaches your door (or other entrance) they must first cross your yard or driveway.  We always picture really old castles as having moats to provide one last line of defense should the attackers make it to the walls.  Well, consider the yard your castle’s moat.  You want a criminal to be turned away before they even reach your doorstep.
  • Use Motion Sensors:  These sensors are most often used to turn on lights, but with a little work you could have them turn on sprinklers at the same time.  Having light illuminate them as they cross your yard will be frightening enough, but covering them in water will make it even worse!
• Warn Inside:  If a criminal crosses your moat, be sure that your doors are barred and secure!  Locking your doors is always step one to securing your home, but you can do even more than that.  Add bells or wind chimes to the interiors of your doors so that any time they move you’ll be alerted with a sound that’s easy to hear.  You can always add them to your windows as well
• Squeak And Creak:  Many homes come pre-built with alarms of their own.  You know what your home sounds like better than anyone (assuming nobody else has lived there longer than you) and you can use that to your advantage.  “Don’t repair squeaky floorboards or oil your door hinges”.  If you know that when someone walks across the living room floor it squeaks really loudly, that’s something you can use to your advantage.  “The best part?  [It] wont cost you a dime”.

There are many other things you can do to secure your home as well.  Friends of ours have fake cameras mounted around their home to help deter criminals.  Others, like us, have dogs.  Man’s best friend is one of the best deterrents you can have.  What are some other things you can do?  Do you have any secrets to home security that you’d like to share?

Urban Survival Day 36 – Stash Valuables in a Book

The weekend is here and today was beautiful.  The weather is going to be good for the next few days so hopefully I can squeeze in some time for shooting.  Need to refresh those skills I’ve been letting wither away.  Anyway, here’s a great indoor project you could do on a day when the weather isn’t that great:

36)  Stash Valuables in a Book

Smugglers have been hollowing out books for as long as books have been around.  After all, what cop would pause and read those dictionaries you have with you?  Having a “book safe” is not only a good idea, but fairly easy to do.  Besides, Hiding valuables is just as useful, if not more so, than smuggling things in them.  Urban Survival Guide, by Rich Johnson, provides some tips on creating your own hollowed-out book:

Pick a book – Choose a hardback book that blends in with other books on your shelf.  A book won’t protect your stuff if its plainly visible when you glance over the shelf.

Find where to begin:  Flip through 20 or 30 pages and pin them to the front cover of the book to hold them out of the way.

Use the right glue:  You want a glue that dries hard and remains clear.  Model car or puzzle glue should work just fine.

Apply the glue:  Use the glue to bind the pages (that haven’t been pinned to the cover) together.  The pages you bind together will be the ones you hollow out.

Let it dry:  Remove the pin you used to hold the first 20 or so pages and close the book.  Put it in a vice or under a heavy object to press the pages together firmly.  Leave it at least 24 hours to ensure a proper bond.

Start cutting:  Open the book and measure/mark the area you want to hollow out on the section of pages that have been glued together.  Use a razor (or other cutting tool) to remove the part of the book you marked.

If you’re not a do-it-yourself kind of person, hollowed out books are available online and are fairly cheap.  I would probably make my own just to save a few bucks though, but that’s just me.

Do you have any book safes of your own?  If so, what do you keep in them?

Urban Survival Day 35 – Wield a Tactical Flashlight

This post will finally catch me up once again.  I will be able to go back to just one survival update a day.  Sorry again for the irregular posting schedule over the past week, as I’ve said, things have been crazy.

35)  Wield a Tactical Flashlight

I reviewed a flashlight that we use at work all the time and I think this is a good time to reiterate some of the points I made.  Flashlights are useful for a lot of things besides just vanquishing the darkness.  When used in defensive scenarios, a flashlight can be used to blind an attacker long enough to counter their attack or flee.  The book gives us two reasons you should use a tactical flashlight:

Shine A Light:  “Grip the flashlight with your thumb on the switch button.  Raise your fist and switch on the light, aiming directly into your assailant’s eyes.  That should temporarily blind [him or her].”

Deliver A Smackdown:  “The second weapon is the flashlight’s sharply scalloped front edge.  Bring it down repeatedly with hammer blows on your attacker’s nose and eyes.”

“Tactical” flashlights can be found just about everywhere now.  The NEBO flashlights that we use at work come from our local NAPA Auto Parts store.  They’re strong, reliable, and have a variety of uses.  Tactical flashlights, like the Redline lights from NEBO, often have “strobe” modes that rapidly cycle the light on and off.  These modes are particularly useful for blinding an attacker.  Use their temporary blindness to close some distance and hit them hard with the jagged edge of the light.

This post is a combination of my own opinions and information that was provided in the book, Urban Survival Guide, by Rich Johnson.  Use this information at your own risk.  Always avoid confrontation when possible and only fight back if you have no other options.  You can replace your valuables but not your life.

Urban Survival Day 34 – Improvise a Weapon

Most of us need only take a second or two and glance around our home to find something we could use to kill another human being.  We’re very resourceful creatures.  We buy all sorts of weapons even though our homes are full of weapons already.

34)  Improvise a Weapon

You may not always have access to your personal defense weapon, be it a gun, knife, bat, or grenade launcher, so being able to find a replacement in a crisis is crucial.  We’ve all seen the movies where someone gets hit in the head with a frying pan or rolling pin.  These are only two of the items specifically mentioned in the book:

• Rolling pins, pots, and pans
• Knives and forks
• Cayenne pepper
• Broken plates
• Broom, mop handle, fireplace poker

In addition to the above items they suggest putting a can of soda or a brick into a sock so you can swing it at an attacker from greater distances.

Remember that bug or wasp spray can be used in place of pepper spray so always keep some of that around the house.  Looking around my bedroom I can see a plethora of potentially dangerous items.  Here’s just a small sample of what I can see (excluding firearms) in less than 30 seconds:

• 30″ tall bowling trophy
• Pens, pocket knives, keys
• Electric guitar
• Metal detector
• Belt, cables, and wires

While not the most lethal of items, I think I could do some damage to an attacker.  The bowling trophy in particular could be pretty dangerous just because it provides a long reach and a heavy base with sharp, pointed corners.  And as we learned in our tip from day 28 you can always defend yourself with a set of keys.  I keep two sets (home and work) on me most of the time, so that’s always an option.

What other things could be used as weapons?  What do you have in your room that could be used to stop an attacker?  Let me know in the comments below!

How Often Do You Practice?

The poll I ran last week asked the question, “How often do you practice? (Dry-fire exercises included)”.  There were 21 votes during the week it was posted and the results were pretty much what I expected.

11 people voted that they practiced weekly, 5 voted for monthly, and 5 voted for other answers.  The results would seem to indicate that the majority of people practice every week or every month.  That’s about where I’m at as well; I usually get to practice every two weeks or so.

I’ve mentioned this before in a few older posts:  Shooting is a skill that fades quickly when you don’t practice.  Taking only a few weeks off can significantly impact your results.  Shooting a gun is much like riding a bike because you’ll never forget how to do it.  But its also like bowling because it requires precision and consistency.  When you don’t practice, it takes longer to get built back up.  You can’t stay on top of your game without practice.

I’m not suggesting you practice every day.  Who could afford the ammo for that anyway?  I do think everyone should practice though.  Its essential in order to maintain your shooting skills.  Enough time off makes you forget even the basics.  Re-learning them is almost as hard the second time as it was the first time and that’s why my current bowling average is 40 pins less than in was 3 years ago.

So this weekend (its supposed to be very nice if you live in VA or surrounding areas) get out there and practice.  I know you’ve been hoarding ammo since The Great Ammo Drought of 2013 began and so have I.  Since ammo is returning to the shelves and becoming available again finally, its time we get back out there and refine those skills we’ve worked so hard to attain!

What are your thoughts on this issue?  How often do you practice and why?  Do you think everyone should practice every day or every week?  At what point do you start losing what you’ve learned?  I’m interested to hear other peoples’ experiences on this.

Urban Survival Day 31 – Secure Your Home

Like I mentioned in my last survival post, securing our homes is key to preventing (or at least deterring) home invasions.  There are a few things you can do to ensure your home is well prepared.

31)  Secure Your Home

Beyond the standard suggestions like “lock your doors”, the book (Urban Survival Guide, by Rich Johnson) provides a checklist of things you can do to help keep your home safe:

1. Keep valuables in secure locations (like a bank lockbox) instead of inside your home.
2. Don’t discuss your possessions or valuables with others.  Keep it secret, keep it safe.
3. Only use licensed workers for in home repairs and always check IDs.  Also, never leave anyone in your home while nobody is there to supervise.
4. Install motion-activated lights.  These come on when motion is detected and can keep would-be intruders at bay.  They may also alert you to a threat you wouldn’t otherwise have noticed.
5. Keep everything locked.  Doors, windows, garage doors, etc.  If you’re picking new locks for your home, go with a deadbolt style lock.  These are more difficult to break through.
6. “Get a guard dog.  Or two.”

One suggestion I would add to the list is a home security system.  Many people say they’re overpriced and that you don’t need them, but its just like my guns:  I would rather have them and never need them than to need them and not have them.

What would you add to the list?  How do you have your home secured?