Well, the shelter is in and is awesome! Very pleased with the construction of the shelter and feel very confident in its ability to ride out just about any storm nature could throw at it.
It is a 10' x 7' x 6'3" tall (thought it was actually a bit shorter initially) flat top unit that weigh's a whopping 13 tons, so even it I had just left it on top of the ground, I doubt if much would affect it anyway.
Buried with about 5 inches sticking out of the dirt, the temperature should remain pretty stable year round. I will be running electricity from the house to the unit so as long as power is available, we will have it in there too.
Over the next few months I will be busy installing shelving and stocking it with my stuff.
It is reassuring to look out the back window and see it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Getting a shelter
After a few (too many) years without an adequate storm shelter and seeing how wild the weather is getting in and around my AO, my wife and I have decided to purchase one. The local storm shelter guy said that he would recommend a 4'x6' shelter for me, my wife and 2 boys. 4X6? IS HE NUTS?
Of course a shelter is typically used about 30 minutes at a time, a few times a year maximum, so a small cramped shelter might do for that use.
But I plan on using it for a lot more than that!
The shelter that we are getting ready to have installed is a 7' wide x10' long and 6'1" tall shelter designed to accommodate about 18 (skinny) people for a storm. Perfect for what I have in mind. Even though I am a 6'3" tall person and my wife is 6'2", we will make due with the cramped headroom without too much of an issue.
The shelter is a flat top unit designed to be almost completely buried underground. This will certainly serve the need for a good shelter, but it will also serve to maintain a much more consistent temperature without any electricity than my storage inside our house. It will also help serve to keep it hidden from view if that need should arise.
My plan is to have 1 ft deep shelves lining the entire length of 1 wall as well as the width of the other wall. this will give me approximately 420 square feet of storage for, you know, whatever I might want to store.
I will be installing a set of 6" bunk beds in it that my boys will be easily able to use (at least for the next few years) and that my wife and I would be able to use in an emergency. There will also be storage room under the bottom bed.
Even with all of these things in there, I will be permanently installing a couple of extra fold down seats as well.
This project should be complete by mid to end of August, so I will make sure to keep things posted here as the project progresses.
Of course a shelter is typically used about 30 minutes at a time, a few times a year maximum, so a small cramped shelter might do for that use.
But I plan on using it for a lot more than that!
The shelter that we are getting ready to have installed is a 7' wide x10' long and 6'1" tall shelter designed to accommodate about 18 (skinny) people for a storm. Perfect for what I have in mind. Even though I am a 6'3" tall person and my wife is 6'2", we will make due with the cramped headroom without too much of an issue.
The shelter is a flat top unit designed to be almost completely buried underground. This will certainly serve the need for a good shelter, but it will also serve to maintain a much more consistent temperature without any electricity than my storage inside our house. It will also help serve to keep it hidden from view if that need should arise.
My plan is to have 1 ft deep shelves lining the entire length of 1 wall as well as the width of the other wall. this will give me approximately 420 square feet of storage for, you know, whatever I might want to store.
I will be installing a set of 6" bunk beds in it that my boys will be easily able to use (at least for the next few years) and that my wife and I would be able to use in an emergency. There will also be storage room under the bottom bed.
Even with all of these things in there, I will be permanently installing a couple of extra fold down seats as well.
This project should be complete by mid to end of August, so I will make sure to keep things posted here as the project progresses.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Trijicon ACOG TA11E review
I am going to do something a bit different today. I usually leave all firearm related posts and stuff to other websites just because that seems to be the most "exciting" thing to post about, but it gets overdone I feel.
Don't get me wrong, I think that firearms are an important prep item and should not be overlooked, but they are no more important than food storage, water purification, gardening tools, etc. You can't eat bullets anymore than you can shoot a deer with a can of beans.
Over the past few months, I was looking for a tough, durable do-it-all scope for my 308 AR. The 308 cartridge is one of my favorites because it is effective, has pretty good reach, is easy to find, and is easy to reload.
I looked around at quite a few different options, but kept coming back to the Trijicon ACOG. It's not a cheap date to say the least and cost almost as much as the firearm that it sits on, however it is legendary for it's durability; it doesn't require batteries (a huge plus) and performs it niche function very well. The red strand on the top of it is actually a fiber optic strand that will light up the chevron in almost all lighting conditions. For darker environments, it has tritium, so even in pitch black, you can at least see the reticle. It addition to that, it also comes with a Bible reference on it from the manufacturer, so I think that is pretty neat as well. Mine has Matt 5:16 which says "Let your light so shine before men...". Pretty fitting actually.
The ACOG isn't a high magnification scope. It is a medium range optic, but performs its function flawlessly in that area. I purchased the red chevron version (example of reticle and ranging options below) because the chevron can act like a dot at close range, you can use the chevron to effectively range targets at unknown distances, and the tip of the chevron can be used for precision.
As you can see below, each line on the BDC (bullet drop compensator) is approximately 19 inches wide at the distance on the reticle. So for example, if you are viewing a target at 800 meters (which is just a few yards shy of 1/2 mile) and it is as wide as the very bottom cross-hair, then it is 19 inches wide. This is the equivalent of the average shoulder width of a human. While I certainly am never planning on using it in this manner, knowing the width of the cross-hair helps range targets a bit better than just cross-hairs alone.
Overall I feel that for the price paid, the anticipated use and the expected lifetime of the scope, it was actually a bargain.
On a recent trip to the range, I bought some crappy steel cased ammo to blow through at the range. The AR 308 and ACOG combination allowed me to shoot offhand and place an entire magazine (20 rounds) inside a 12 inch target at 100 yards. Off a decent rest with some better ammo, I am certain that I could cut that group in half without a second thought.
Overall, I am very pleased with this setup and feel that it fits well into my anticipated use.
Don't get me wrong, I think that firearms are an important prep item and should not be overlooked, but they are no more important than food storage, water purification, gardening tools, etc. You can't eat bullets anymore than you can shoot a deer with a can of beans.
Over the past few months, I was looking for a tough, durable do-it-all scope for my 308 AR. The 308 cartridge is one of my favorites because it is effective, has pretty good reach, is easy to find, and is easy to reload.
I looked around at quite a few different options, but kept coming back to the Trijicon ACOG. It's not a cheap date to say the least and cost almost as much as the firearm that it sits on, however it is legendary for it's durability; it doesn't require batteries (a huge plus) and performs it niche function very well. The red strand on the top of it is actually a fiber optic strand that will light up the chevron in almost all lighting conditions. For darker environments, it has tritium, so even in pitch black, you can at least see the reticle. It addition to that, it also comes with a Bible reference on it from the manufacturer, so I think that is pretty neat as well. Mine has Matt 5:16 which says "Let your light so shine before men...". Pretty fitting actually.
The ACOG isn't a high magnification scope. It is a medium range optic, but performs its function flawlessly in that area. I purchased the red chevron version (example of reticle and ranging options below) because the chevron can act like a dot at close range, you can use the chevron to effectively range targets at unknown distances, and the tip of the chevron can be used for precision.
As you can see below, each line on the BDC (bullet drop compensator) is approximately 19 inches wide at the distance on the reticle. So for example, if you are viewing a target at 800 meters (which is just a few yards shy of 1/2 mile) and it is as wide as the very bottom cross-hair, then it is 19 inches wide. This is the equivalent of the average shoulder width of a human. While I certainly am never planning on using it in this manner, knowing the width of the cross-hair helps range targets a bit better than just cross-hairs alone.
Overall I feel that for the price paid, the anticipated use and the expected lifetime of the scope, it was actually a bargain.
On a recent trip to the range, I bought some crappy steel cased ammo to blow through at the range. The AR 308 and ACOG combination allowed me to shoot offhand and place an entire magazine (20 rounds) inside a 12 inch target at 100 yards. Off a decent rest with some better ammo, I am certain that I could cut that group in half without a second thought.
Overall, I am very pleased with this setup and feel that it fits well into my anticipated use.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Still alive and kicking
Things are a bit crazy right now with summer here. Keeping the garden weeded, mowing grass, raising chickens and quail and still trying to find time to fit my job into all of this!
We are eating fresh vegetables out of our garden already and it will just keep accelerating through the year. Tomatoes, squash, peppers, okra...yum!
Our sunflowers are growing like crazy and are already over 4 feet tall. We had a windstorm come through and blew them over, but their stalk just makes a curve in it and keeps growing up.
Our quail are giving us more eggs than we know what to do with. Right now that is a challenge, but in the near future, it could be a huge advantage.
The last batch of quail that were hatched are about 2 weeks away from the dinner plate. 11 weeks to eggs to dinner plate is not a bad turnaround time at all.
We are eating fresh vegetables out of our garden already and it will just keep accelerating through the year. Tomatoes, squash, peppers, okra...yum!
Our sunflowers are growing like crazy and are already over 4 feet tall. We had a windstorm come through and blew them over, but their stalk just makes a curve in it and keeps growing up.
Our quail are giving us more eggs than we know what to do with. Right now that is a challenge, but in the near future, it could be a huge advantage.
The last batch of quail that were hatched are about 2 weeks away from the dinner plate. 11 weeks to eggs to dinner plate is not a bad turnaround time at all.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Seriously?
How serious are you?
Stop for a second and think. What would happen if right now BAM a "One Second After" type of event happened. Take just a bit of time and really try to immerse yourself in that scenario.
What would be the first thing that you would do? What would your course of action be? What do you imagine your first hour, 12 hour, day, week would be like?
Do you seriously have a plan or do you just have a plan for a plan?
Are you playing prepper or do you have a firm, actionable plan AND the hardware/resources to carry out that plan?
Where are you right now? How do you get to where you need to be? What do you have with you to help you carry out that goal?
What if that plan falls through? What if that "little hidey hole back in a national forest that nobody else knows about but me" turns out to be the destination for half of your county's population? Do you have an alternate Bug Out Land?
What would you do for water? Seriously. Remember, the Shit just Hit the Fan. What do you do today? This is no longer hypothetical or a post on a forum, this is real and this is happening!
Rain water with a water filter? Just this morning in my area, the weatherman said that the past two months have been the driest on record since the late 1800's.
How does that rain water sound now? Have access to a river or pond? Awesome! How are you going to access it? Do you have the necessary water prep/filter? Is it in your possession or just "in your plan?"
What about food? Do you have what you need for today? I am sure that you do. What about this week? If you have found this page, you probably have that covered. This month? Hmmm, are things going to get a bit tight?
Human Nature. I have been in a few places that have shown human nature is capable of stooping to any level to ensure survival. This won't happen after a few months, this type of nature will begin to exhibit itself within hours. How will you deal with it?
I am sure that most preppers have firearms pretty squared away. What about ammo? Is it in your possession or just "in your plan"? I personally know preppers that have several high quality firearms but not enough ammo to even carry them through a decent day at the range without stopping by walmart to stock back up.
Do you have a plan to help people out? Do you have the means and capability to carry out that plan? Do you plan to help to try to build a community or will you be in "EMFH" (Every Man For Himself) mode?
What skills do you have to help build a community? Database programmer? Car Salesperson? Lawyer? Window Washer? Probably not a big call for these fields in the PAW (Post Apocalyptic World). Know how to raise livestock and manage a flock/herd? Nice. Know how to save seeds and raise a garden? Awesome!
Putting ourselves in this mindset and getting out of the "planning to plan" stage just might, one day, save our lives!
Stop for a second and think. What would happen if right now BAM a "One Second After" type of event happened. Take just a bit of time and really try to immerse yourself in that scenario.
What would be the first thing that you would do? What would your course of action be? What do you imagine your first hour, 12 hour, day, week would be like?
Do you seriously have a plan or do you just have a plan for a plan?
Are you playing prepper or do you have a firm, actionable plan AND the hardware/resources to carry out that plan?
Where are you right now? How do you get to where you need to be? What do you have with you to help you carry out that goal?
What if that plan falls through? What if that "little hidey hole back in a national forest that nobody else knows about but me" turns out to be the destination for half of your county's population? Do you have an alternate Bug Out Land?
What would you do for water? Seriously. Remember, the Shit just Hit the Fan. What do you do today? This is no longer hypothetical or a post on a forum, this is real and this is happening!
Rain water with a water filter? Just this morning in my area, the weatherman said that the past two months have been the driest on record since the late 1800's.
How does that rain water sound now? Have access to a river or pond? Awesome! How are you going to access it? Do you have the necessary water prep/filter? Is it in your possession or just "in your plan?"
What about food? Do you have what you need for today? I am sure that you do. What about this week? If you have found this page, you probably have that covered. This month? Hmmm, are things going to get a bit tight?
Human Nature. I have been in a few places that have shown human nature is capable of stooping to any level to ensure survival. This won't happen after a few months, this type of nature will begin to exhibit itself within hours. How will you deal with it?
I am sure that most preppers have firearms pretty squared away. What about ammo? Is it in your possession or just "in your plan"? I personally know preppers that have several high quality firearms but not enough ammo to even carry them through a decent day at the range without stopping by walmart to stock back up.
Do you have a plan to help people out? Do you have the means and capability to carry out that plan? Do you plan to help to try to build a community or will you be in "EMFH" (Every Man For Himself) mode?
What skills do you have to help build a community? Database programmer? Car Salesperson? Lawyer? Window Washer? Probably not a big call for these fields in the PAW (Post Apocalyptic World). Know how to raise livestock and manage a flock/herd? Nice. Know how to save seeds and raise a garden? Awesome!
Putting ourselves in this mindset and getting out of the "planning to plan" stage just might, one day, save our lives!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
LET THERE BE QUAIL!
Well, about 3 weeks ago I fired up the old incubator that I put away last year and put a bunch of my eggs from my 6 mature Coturnix Quail.
The incubator did it's job well and I now have 8 little bundles of energy bouncing around inside the incubator. (I will be posting pics as soon as my crappy camera/phone cooperates with me).
Because of all of the selective breeding that has occurred throughout the years to get this kind of bird, the Coturnix Quail has lost all instinct to brood. Hence the incubator.
A person could use a very small banty hen to sit on the eggs (which I have one and she VERY MUCH has the instinct to brood, sometimes it's hard to get any eggs because wants to sit on all of them.
If worse comes to worse, I will do that, but for now I will use the incubator. It increases the hatch rate and reduces work.
Anyway, my plan is to basically keep the incubator full of eggs and every 3 weeks put in another batch. By the beginning of fall I should have enough of a cycle to allow me to butcher 4 - 5 each week to add to my VERY locally sourced food. 1 quail is not much meat, but every little bit helps.
The incubator did it's job well and I now have 8 little bundles of energy bouncing around inside the incubator. (I will be posting pics as soon as my crappy camera/phone cooperates with me).
Because of all of the selective breeding that has occurred throughout the years to get this kind of bird, the Coturnix Quail has lost all instinct to brood. Hence the incubator.
A person could use a very small banty hen to sit on the eggs (which I have one and she VERY MUCH has the instinct to brood, sometimes it's hard to get any eggs because wants to sit on all of them.
If worse comes to worse, I will do that, but for now I will use the incubator. It increases the hatch rate and reduces work.
Anyway, my plan is to basically keep the incubator full of eggs and every 3 weeks put in another batch. By the beginning of fall I should have enough of a cycle to allow me to butcher 4 - 5 each week to add to my VERY locally sourced food. 1 quail is not much meat, but every little bit helps.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Close Food: This time its personal!
Well finally got my plants in the ground and not a moment too soon since we just had a great rain storm that should help my stuff just leap out of the ground.
Here are a few random, crappy cell phone pictures of my WIP (Work In Progress).
This is my garden plot. Much smaller than the previous three years, but will still keep us in fried okra, fried green tomatoes, fried squash, (do you detect a pattern here?). Ok, I do eat raw stuff too, but fried stuff is just so freaking tasty!
I went to the dark side and got a few hybrid tomatoes. Don't worry though because most of the plants are heirloom.
Here is my patch of garlic from the previous years. (it doesn't really grow sideways, its just the camera angle LOL)
As you can see in this picture, my wife will have no excuse not to keep me well stocked with cherry cobbler!
Here is a small glimpse of part of how I keep my garden watered during the dry spells. Its a rain water catch off of my well house. Old DirecTV dishes make for a plethora of great hobby uses. Here it is being repurposed as a funnel. Inside the water drum I have a pump that I use to pump the water out through a hose. It doesn't have great pressure, but does an acceptable job of watering the garden when needed. It doesn't take long to capture 55 gallons (a few rains) and I can water the garden about 3 times out of this before its empty.
Our grapes are coming along nicely. I am going to try some new recipes this year that call for grape leaves. I have never eaten anything with grape leaves in it, but since my motto is "waste not want not", I am going to try a few. Have plenty of grape leaves to experiment with.
During my "down time", I can usually be found behind my workshop starring at this. Its my makeshift target range for my pistols. Its only about 20 yards, but long enough for some decent pistol work.
I truly love spring, summer and fall and enjoy every minute of being outside on my place. Some folks like to take vacation to go places. I like to stay home. I feel that if everyone had as wonderful place as I do, there would be a lot more "stay-cations" in the world!
Addendum - 5-10-12:
Just walked around my garden last evening and the squash and cucumbers are already breaking through the ground. Got some blooms on my tomatoes.
Here are a few random, crappy cell phone pictures of my WIP (Work In Progress).
I went to the dark side and got a few hybrid tomatoes. Don't worry though because most of the plants are heirloom.
Here is my patch of garlic from the previous years. (it doesn't really grow sideways, its just the camera angle LOL)
Here is a small glimpse of part of how I keep my garden watered during the dry spells. Its a rain water catch off of my well house. Old DirecTV dishes make for a plethora of great hobby uses. Here it is being repurposed as a funnel. Inside the water drum I have a pump that I use to pump the water out through a hose. It doesn't have great pressure, but does an acceptable job of watering the garden when needed. It doesn't take long to capture 55 gallons (a few rains) and I can water the garden about 3 times out of this before its empty.
Our grapes are coming along nicely. I am going to try some new recipes this year that call for grape leaves. I have never eaten anything with grape leaves in it, but since my motto is "waste not want not", I am going to try a few. Have plenty of grape leaves to experiment with.
During my "down time", I can usually be found behind my workshop starring at this. Its my makeshift target range for my pistols. Its only about 20 yards, but long enough for some decent pistol work.
I truly love spring, summer and fall and enjoy every minute of being outside on my place. Some folks like to take vacation to go places. I like to stay home. I feel that if everyone had as wonderful place as I do, there would be a lot more "stay-cations" in the world!
Addendum - 5-10-12:
Just walked around my garden last evening and the squash and cucumbers are already breaking through the ground. Got some blooms on my tomatoes.
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