Alright folks – another installment of “Q & A Day”. Basically, ask me a question and I will give you an answer. It can be about pretty much anything – politics, firearms, current events, survival, preparedness, and “At the movie theater which armrest is yours?” – whatever.
Looking through last week’s questions thought I would mention a couple things here:
- goingray58 asked about snares. Click HERE for a free downloadable book on the subject. Looks decent.
- goingray58 was on a roll and asked about a bivvy bag. I have a MSS(Military Sleep System) and love it. The individual components can be purchased separately including the outer waterproof bivvy.
Go ahead – “make my day.”
JR
Mark Twain
“If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it.”
― Mark Twain
Do you think our votes count?
I do think it makes a larger difference than not voting at all.
When I ran for judge, I missed the Republican primary nomination by one vote. I than had to mount a campaign for a run off election, that I did win. That experience taught me that each vote does indeed count.
PR
??? Voting and selecting a taskmaster….. same thing? Not yet… getting there but not yet. I have no faith or trust in our current two party system… and they burn my cell mins. with the BS calls everyyyyday.
Libertarian party… TEA party… ?? it is going to take a major political/social reset to change they way we do business. Then we start the process over again and my great great grand children will have the sos to deal with or just give up and live in the Matrix.
On a lighter note: I don’t care to bolt, screw, strap, glue or clamp a ton O stuff on my ARs ….. I… am not an expert.
I am looking for a simple durable small profile 4 power glass in the price range that a common fella can afford a spare.
?????????????
TTT – Look at the Bushnell 1-4x PCL throw down lever of optics couple of guys I shoot with have it and they are pretty decent for the money. I have a Vortex 1-4 on my AR and love it but the Bushy is a great alternative that kind of wish I would have bought instead. Even engaging steel at 200-300 yards I rarely go above 3x on my Vortex.
I second JH in a Vortex or Bushnell.
How important is it to your MAG or prep group to have a couple sets of a certain type of camouflage ‘uniform’? Guy I’m mentoring who recently joined a group where you are required to get a certain pair of Danner boots and 2 sets of Muliticam or the new OCP including gore-tex jacket/trouser within 4 months. There was even a requirement to buy within 2 months a Plate carrier & armor for every adult male of your family. Back in the Y2k days I was part of a group who had a requirement that you had to have a German flectarn camo field shirt, jacket with liner and green BDU type pants so if shtf we could be easy recognized by other members & it worked great in lower Michigan woodlands.
jh – my group has not discussed common clothing. Not a bad idea to reduce friendly fire and make it easier for identification especially at distance. To answer your question I think it is a great idea and am going to bring it up to fellow members myself.
JH, sounds like your friend joined the army without being able to visit the quartermaster. There is much to be said for for using common items however what if I just happen to like a better quality than specified? I think high moral character is more important than a nice kit and that is the first item on the critical path when I look at associates.
PR
jh.. Once upon a time way back when … The reason for wearing common uniform was so you could identify exactly who the enemy was .. especially in close quarters. Friendly fire can kill you just as dead and the “other” guy.. A uniform doesn’t have to be expensive, I guess there are all kinds of reasons .. acceptable quality might ensure lower chances of failures .. common look is good for recognition.. of course that works for you AND the bad other guy .. can’;t hide among if you look like something else. Whatever the SOP is for a group, I’d want to know what it is and have some latitude.. as long as the objective is met. Of course I bridle at being mandated anything.. but that is me I suppose.. If it surpasses the objective, its just a control issue and you may want to look at the overall objective of the group.. I’m not in the business of feeding someone ego or self importance.. or helping them relive glory days.. my .02.. it’s gonna be tough to be a grayman if everyone is in a paramilitary uniform.. I’m with PR it’s about character.. and maybe what is learned through training .. What you can do counts more than how you identify .. good question jh
JR good links thanks.. I think the saplings in my area are going to be mad at me this week.. umm hmm .. and the sleep systems .. if willing to accept good quality previously issued are pretty affordable.. Still seems I’m using a tarp or looking for a bivy that is larger than just the sleeper with a zip fly and ventilation .. a little wiggle room for rainy day .. I do like the ENO setups .. the double especially .. requires trees of course so south east it works .. I guess a sleeper water resistant cover on a tarp as ground cover set with a back line and fold over the ridge-line works pretty well and not to heavy. Cooler weather it will reflect heat to a degree as well .. if a “fire” is ok in th situation..
No problem gg58. I like the Eno as well. They just came out with a super lightweight hammock system I really like. Not cheap but very high quality. I have a hammock tarp but want to look at the Eno brands as well.
OK here is a question..
Weather made the next leap recently here.. so it’s time to go through my ole buddy BOB.. and pull everything out and tool up for warm weather.. Nothing mission specific.. in General .. What changes do you guys make to your BOB.. for warm to hot weather (I change it up twice a year at war, to coll .. then again cool to warm..)
So far I swap out clothes, add insect stuff and change out some meds and this year focusing on some electrolytes and med supplies.. Some things would not change like defensive elements.. as an example
Maybe I’ll have another one later
Thanks
GG58
gg58 – mainly I change out thermals, hat, gloves. Not a whole lot really. I figure wherever I am at I will have my jacket/coat. I keep a wool blend blanket in winter and summer.
I don’t know any woman who can pack light, so I don’t change my bag for the seasons. Since we don’t live in an area with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or particularly harsh winters, my biggest fear is that if we have to leave, we won’t be coming back any time soon. The only things I change are the perishable items.
Big change for me to to remove/add various liners to the sleeping bag system to adjust for seasonal temperatures. This I do because of the time it takes to unroll, remove, roll and repack. Any removed liners remain in my vehicle box, just separated from the ruck. I have oiled canvas coats with removable wool liners in the vehicles for the wife and I year round and the packs have long sleeve cotton and wool shirts, military goggles, heavy gloves, and other cold gear that does not get changed seasonally, I remove seasonally inappropriate clothing at the time of use or as soon as practicable, otherwise the bag is always packed for winter’s worst. I change out food annually in the spring unless the vehicle is out in the sun quite a bit and then more frequently. The weapons are all in vapor phase inhibitor bags (Zcorr) so they don’t need maintenance other than an annual check at which time I trade out ammo that has been exposed to the summer heat.
PR