From the Desk of John Rourke – March 4th, 2024

The other night I headed out in the evening to run a couple of errands and saw an owl sitting in a tree along the driveway. Absolutely beautiful creature and the photo just doesn’t do it justice.

I sat in my truck and watched this owl for about 10 minutes. I moved along to complete what I set out to do. The owl sat on that branch and continued to wait for its prey.

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I received the fantastic photo below. Someone bought a bunch of the Sawyer Mini Water Filter Bucket Conversion Kits. These were taken to a village in Kenya that struggles daily to find clean water. These bucket conversion kits were hooked up and now the village and its inhabitants can drink clean water and live a much healthier life.

I told the woman who ordered the bucket kits from me that I’d donate some on their next trip.

While the vast majority of us have an unlimited supply of clean water where we live, hearing of these situations can hit home and reminds us that if modern services go down we may be in the same situation as those in that village.

Multiple contingencies to acquire clean water are a priority in any preparedness system.

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I watched a good amount of coverage in the Fani Willis disqualification hearings. What was extremely clear is the number of people in public service – especially in large cities – that are not remotely close to being qualified to be in their position. These people obtain positions of authority and power due to the color of their skin and the ability to perform favors.

This is the state of government today. Pathetic.

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Over the past few days, the temp here in Maine rose upwards of 50 degrees. This is abnormally high and has many out buying gardening supplies. I felt the urge myself to start doing a few things out on the homestead, but, I realize that even in early March there is a lot of Winter left here in Maine. We could get a foot of snow next week. Never know.

Oh……well, here we go……

OK – the long-range forecast is suggesting upwards of 8″+ in a week.

We’ll see.

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There are countless people out there who have purchased ARs chambered in .223/5.56mm and fail to understand the true capability of the weapon. I’ve said many times before I sight my AR’s in at 50 yards. This makes a 50-yard zero and also a 225-yard zero – give or take. Barrel length and specific load certainly make a difference. I’ll also say that I do not see me targeting beyond 100-150 yards. If a target is well beyond that it is likely not a threat based on my personal geographic area.

This makes things fairly simple as an AR zeroed at 50 yards is mostly spot on at any range I may target.

An inch high or an inch low isn’t going to make any difference.

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I had put together an AR-10 in .308 Winchester several months ago. It needs a magnified optic as well as open sights. Well, I picked up these open sights and so far they seem solid. What I look for with AR sights are a rugged peep sight in the rear that flips out of the way and a rugged post in the front that also flips out of they. Metal is preferred, however, I have some polymer Magpul versions on a few of my rifles.

Check them out here – – – > LINK TO AWESOME AR SIGHTS HERE

These seem like they will work just fine. I’ll report back once I have more experience with them.

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The insanity continues…….

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Stay safe all and please…..keep preparing.

Rourke