Happy Halloween

...From all of us here at Arma Borealis.  Watch out for face-eating velociraptors!

Another Appleseed

Just finished up a shoot closer to home this past weekend.  The weather was excellent, much better than the "Deathseed" in June that was the last shoot at this location.  We ended up with three new riflemen/women and two of them stepped up and took orange hats.  Fantastic, since we're trying to build up the instructor base in this area!  We've been having to pull folks in from neighboring states for every shoot.

I didn't do much instruction this weekend, since I spent most of my time first being trained to be Line Boss and then running the line on my own.  It was fun and easy, especially once I made the connection that it is just like being a stage manager for a theatre production.

I also jumped into the history portion of Appleseed, presenting the Second Strike.  I'd worked pretty hard on it (with some excellent help from Chris) and I was very pleased with how it went.  I forgot a few things I had planned to do, but overall it worked out very well - so well, in fact, that instead of just telling one strike at the next shoot I'm going to, I may well be telling two!

Body Armor Upgrade

With Ryan over at TSLRF upgrading his body armor I've been thinking about doing the same.  Hurricane Sandy and the news coverage was a bit of a prompter too.  Body armor saves lives, it is a big deal.  We currently have soft vests which are good against most threats, and a K-30 trauma insert upgrade which gives very economical protection against some carbines (like, M1 carbines) and oddball "PDW" rounds, but the next logical step is some sort of rifle protection.  A thug gunned down a trick or treater in our community a few years back with an AK so that sort of threat is certainly out there.

USES AND CRITERIA

The #1 application I envision for body armor is dealing with a home invasion type scenario.  The #2 application would be "low profile" usage (under a sweatshirt or something) during movement in a vehicle if things got really squirrely (evaccing in a Katrina type scenario, for example).  The #3 application would be extended wear in a static position while watching the house in a "shelter in place" type situation.  I do not realistically expect to be conducting long range patrols on foot or anything in my kit.  If there is a serious disaster I will be sheltering in place or traveling in a vehicle away from the affected area.  Finally, these plates will be moved around, stored in vehicles, etc so durability is important.  Therefore, durability, profile (thin), and protection are more important to me than weight.

I compared each of those criteria against each other using pair ranking and decided on the following weighted values of importance to me:

• PROTECTION:  x4
• COST:  x2
• PROFILE:  x2
• DURABILITY:  x2
• WEIGHT:  0 (but I will give it x1 points as it does have some value as a consideration)

The trick is figuring out what the optimal curve between cost and utility is.  I've sorted it out into a few categories.  I'll evaluate each category against my criteria then apply the above multipliers.

HYBRID TRAUMA PLATE

Midwest Armor makes the Mass III ($209/1.3 lbs) and American Body Armor makes the IMPAC-RT PLUS ($160/3.2 lbs).  Both come in 5x8" sizes that would fit in the trauma plate pack on a soft vest or carrier.

The Mass III is rated for 308, 7.62x39 AK, and non-armor piercing 5.56 (up to M193).  The IMPAC-RT PLUS is rated for the same threats plus M855 (surprisingly!).  The downsides to the IMPAC-RT are a steel core and the subsequent risk of spalling, along with some weight.

• PROTECTION:  "-4."  These products are not NIJ tested.  They do not cover AP threats.  I am also concerned about spalling from the steel core IMPAC-RT.  They're small and don't fully cover the vitals.
• COST:  "+2."  By definition I can only wear a front plate and they use my existing vest.  I can also repurpose them into side plates later, saving funds down the road if I get a more robust set up.
• PROFILE:  "+2."  It doesn't get much more low profile than fitting into a soft armor vest.
• DURABILITY:  "+0."  These are new products so there's not much data.  The steel IMPAC-RT should be pretty rugged.
• WEIGHT:  "+1."  About as light as it gets.

TOTAL SCORE:  +1

CHEAP STEAL PLATES

I picked up a 5.11 plate carrier awhile back when it was on sale for a ridiculously good price.  Sure, it isn't the best or fanciest but for a basic home defense rig it'd get the job done.

Going along with the el-cheapo rig I could throw in some steel plates ($100/8.6 lbs each).  All weights cited are for 10x13" or something close.  Or just one steel plate.  For a "DIY" spall guard, I could get a 3A vest remnant "not for defense of life or property" for twenty bucks or so and slap that in front.

The weight concerns can be mitigated somewhat by going with a smaller size.

• PROTECTION:  "+0."  They do not cover AP threats and spalling is a significant concern.  I almost gave this a minus due to the spalling issue but I think it can be mitigated to some degree.
• COST:  "+2."  The cheapest option by far.  They can also be repurposed for limited vehicle armor (stick 'em in map pockets, for example) in a "driving out of dodge Crazy Katrina" type situation.
• PROFILE:  "+0."  They're actually surprisingly thin, but they need to be worn over a 3A vest, with a spall guard, and in a plate carrier.
• DURABILITY:  "+2."  I think you could drop this off the roof and the steel plates would be fine
• WEIGHT:  "-1."  The  heaviest option.

TOTAL SCORE:  +3


LEVEL IV STANDALONE

Again I can use my existing cheap carrier or purchase a new nice one for $150 or so (+/-$50).  Level IV plates run from $150 to $220 or so depending on size, cut, etc.  They are also heavy at ~8.3 lbs each and fairly thick at 0.75".

• PROTECTION:  "+4."  Clearly the best protection.
• COST:  "+0."  Sort of a middle of the road cost option.  They could theoretically be repurposed for vehicle armor as well.
• PROFILE:  "+0."  One of the thicker options, and requires a dedicated plate carrier.  But, the saving grace is that they do not require backers or a supporting vest.
• DURABILITY:  "-2."  Ceramic plates are not as fragile as some claim but they do need TLC and inspections.
• WEIGHT:  "-1."  Almost as heavy as steel.

TOTAL SCORE:  +1


LEVEL IV SUPPORTED

Level IV with 3A vest supporting plates seem to run about $250 but weigh 7.5 lbs while being a half inch thick.

• PROTECTION:  "+0."  No AP protection.  Still, the requirement to wear wrap around soft armor will increase protection to some degree against pistol/shotgun/shrapnel threats.
• COST:  "-2."  More expensive for less protection.
• PROFILE:  "-2."  Not much thinner and requires a supporting 3A vest to boot.
• DURABILITY:  "-2."  Ceramic plates are not as fragile as some claim but they do need TLC and inspections.
• WEIGHT:  "-1."  Obviously the worst when you factor in the weight of the 3A vest.

TOTAL SCORE:  -7



ULTRALIGHTWEIGHT

The MASS III weighs in at 3.3 lbs, is 0.75" thin, and a whopping $479 per plate.  It stops non-AP threats.

The Mass III plus is 1.25" thick, 5.2 lbs but will stop AP 5.56.  It also runs $479/plate.

BulletProofMe looks like they have a product very similar to the Mass III lineup for a little cheaper.

• PROTECTION:  "+0/+2."  No NIJ rating on the MASS vests.  The variant that stops 5.56 AP gets a partial "plus" here -- not the full +4 of a legit level 4 plate but still a stronger swimmer.
• COST:  "-2."  Super expensive.
• PROFILE:  "0/-2."  The baseline MASS vest is equivalent to the standalone ceramic plate.  The AP version is one of the thickest considered.
• DURABILITY:  "0."  Should be more impact resistant than ceramic, but still a new product.
• WEIGHT:  "+1."  Obviously the best.  If walking around all day in armor was important for me this would be a big priority and the MASS plates would look awesome assuming I had infinite money.

TOTAL SCORE:  -1

FINAL TALLY:

• Steel:  +3
• Upgraded Trauma Plate: +1
• Level IV Standalone:  +1
• MASS:  -1
• LEVEL IV Supported:  -7 (!!!)

These results are definitely surprising, in that steel does so well based on my criteria.  You could argue that steel deserves a worse protection rating:  while it covers a larger area than the trauma pads, it is still only level 3 and the spalling issue is worrisome.  If I don't opt for steel, then the choice is pretty clearly between concealability and economy (upgraded trauma plates) and protection (level IV standalone).  That's kind of a tough call, honestly.  The compromise might be to go for Level IV but only get the front plate.  That should be sufficient for most defensive situations while keeping costs comparable.

Colors

I've recently been coming around on Coyote Brown a lot.  I've kind of stumbled into it -- my war belt was on sale in Coyote but not anything else, so Coyote it was -- but have been pretty happy thus far.

Let's face it, when you buy belts/bags/gear you usually have a few choices:

• ACU.  Ah, the ACU pattern.  Anything the Army adopts universally becomes a hit in the LE and civilian market.  That's just how it works.  Sadly, the ACU seems to only be effective if you are blending in with a gravel pit or maybe rough urban terrain.  While there are a few normal civilian types running around with ACU stuff, any camo pattern tends to draw attention in public, too.  I never got in on the ACU thing, personally.
• Multicam.  I can't argue, this stuff works.  Really, really well.  I've seen it worn in forests, broken arid desert, and semi-urban type terrain and it is effective in all of them.  Only two problems:  again, like the ACU you look like you're in the army and it is expensive due to the Crye licensing fees.
• Solids:  Black, Brown, Coyote

So that leaves black, OD, and coyote.  Black is pretty good for low profile day to day stuff.  How many black bags, laptop cases, and IPAD carriers do you see every day?  I think it is hard to beat plain old black for low profile travel bags and such.

On the downside, black doesn't really appear in nature.  It can also make it harder to find your bag at the airport.  For those reasons I like coyote and OD green stuff.  It can be non-overtly military yet still effective for blending in at the baggage carousel or in a tree stand.  Coyote has been growing on me the more I see it. My original mental schema for "brown" was the old chocolate chip DCU or a light tan setup.  The Coyote is much darker and more subdued.

I still have a lot of black stuff but think I'll be picking up some more OD and Coyote...

Fact Check

1916:  The US Regular Army had about 250,000 men under arms, and that was after some plus-up efforts such as doubling the size of the army to get ready for WW1.  At this time the army had suffered a long stint of neglect, including big budget cuts in 1915, so I suspect arsenals were in a depleted state.

2012:  DoD owns about 614,000 bayonets.

I suppose there could have been warehouses full of 45-70s with their old bayonets laying around in 1916 but the evidence seems to suggest that we actually have more bayonets in military service in 2012 than we did in 1916.

Although I suppose it is factually true to state that we have fewer "bayonets AND horses" today than in 1916.  Gotta remember that Boolean logic...

Skill or Luck

Kodiak Bear Shot

Interesting part of this story is the part where the gentleman hasn't used the rifle in 20 years, taped a flashlight to the barrel, and took out an 8-foot bear with a single shot.

That's either some made skills or one heck of a helping of luck there!

Open Carrying a Presidential Candidate

Green party presidential candidate and veep candidate get arrested.  How dare they show up to the presidential debate without standing in a designated free speech zone and filing the appropriate permits ahead of time?  Don't they know the Demopublicans and Republicrats were busy discussing how we're at war with Eurasia East Asia Oceania during the foreign policy debate?

It reminds me of a post from a Blog that Ryan at TSLRF links to from time to time:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
[Re Occupy protestors] The typical argument I get from police officer friends that they were “breaking the law because they were on public property,” is a load of complete horseshit. What if the folks in Boston on 16DEC1773 had decided, “Well, standing on this street corner is against the law, so we’re going to just disperse like the soldiers/cops are telling us to?”

It is not enough to be pro-Second Amendment.  You need to be pro-Bill of Rights.  Everyone likes to say that the 2A is the ultimate gurantor of the others, but really, all of the core rights are interdependent.  The residents of Corcord, Lexington, and other surrounding communities had to use their rights to assemble, to communicate, to have private property relatively secure from search, etc as well as their right to keep and bear arms.

This is the most egregious issue with both mainstream parties.  The Dems claim to be all for women/homosexuals/non-WASPs/civil liberties but Pres Obama signed the NDAA authorizing a significant expansion of military power at home and killed an American citizen abroad with no judicial process.  The Repubs claim to be all for small limited government, the 2A, and apple pie but dreamed up the Patriot Act, Rapiscans, and warrantless wiretaps.  Both parties are apparently in favor of throwing political dissidents dangerous jay walkers like the Greens in jail.

Range Day

I've been doing a very good job keeping myself busy lately.  Today, after taking care of a bunch of errands, I finally got out to the range to shoot rather than RSO.  I had a fun time.  Several folks I'd met before came over to chat and we spent a while shooting the breeze and talking guns. I had one real goal today, and that was to ensure that Chris' 10/22 was properly zeroed.  I'm taking the NRA Rifle Instructor certification in two weeks and the course specifies iron sights, so I need to steal his rifle.  Not really a huge deal, except that the first (and last) time I'd shot the rifle I'd had a very bad experience.  It was a hundred and twenty degrees outside and I could NOT get the darned things zeroed.  This, plus the heat, led to a very frustrated me.  Turns out that the sights had come loose and were moving themselves around.  By the time that had been figured out though, I'd tossed in the towel with the bonus of heat exhaustion.  Just a rough day all around.  So I was nervous about shooting this rifle again.

I didn't need to be.

After shooting two groups of five shots and verifying that the sights require a six o'clock hold, I cleared this redcoat target from the prone position.  Untimed, but only because I had one mag and needed to reload before the last stage.  I wasn't taking my time though.  Rifleman's cadence all the way, with the South Carolina Skootch.  I think I'm ready for the NRA qualification in two weeks!

Shooting anything other than bench at this range is always a source of wonder and awe for others.  The RSO asked if I was training for a competition.  Lots of people stared.  Good times.  I got to pass out an Appleseed card to a pair of new rifle shooters who were looking for training.  Hope to see them at a 'Seed in the future!

Speaking of future 'Seeds, come out and join us at the Gaston, SC shoot next weekend!  I'm bringing baked goods!

Nobel Peace Prize Follow-up

Heather posted about the Nobel Peace Prize for this year, which goes to the Eurozone for creating an uber peaceful utopia on earth (or something).

If that's the case, why are the Swiss running military drills and talking seriously about mobilizing four battalions (essentially a BCT) to protect their borders and critical infrastructure from hordes of Eurotrash refugees spreading like locusts in the wake of future widespread civil unrest?

As Nightwatch states:   The Swiss are not prone to overreact to threats. They do not spend defense funds in order to be prepared for potential threats. They prepare for real threats

The first picture is of Greek riots and is from Wikipedia.  The second  is a French Rafale dropping bombs on Libyans in a war started this year by the Nobel Peace-Prize winning countries.  Picture from some random blog (no endorsement implied, it was just a cool picture).

Brushfire Plague

I recently won a copy of Brushfire Plague courtesy of a contest from TSLRF.  It has been a few weeks since I read it but here's my quick review before I forget the details.

THE GOOD

Overall it was a fun, interesting read.  I picked up the book and devoured it pretty quickly and it kept my attention.  The plot was fairly obvious but interesting enough and kept me reading.

There was some degree of realism about issues like inter-personal issues, practical levels of skills, and realistic stocks of supplies in your typical suburban neighborhood.  Most folks in the upper part of the preparedness bell curve likely have a .22 LR, a hunting rifle, a shotgun, and maybe a CCW pistol.  They have at most a month of groceries and camping food on hand and some camping food.  Maybe an extra 5 gallon can of gas.  Having that degree of stuff probably puts you in the top third of prepared people in the US.  I think it is much more realistic than the uberretreat found in novels like Patriots.

Tactically, I like how the author explored what some modest static defensive forces (2-4 adults with shotguns and hunting rifles behind hard cover) augmented with a two-man buddy team trained in basic light infantry tactics (two combat arms veterans) with an FAL and a (legal) M16 and body armor who do their PT can accomplish.  I think that sort of situation is much more realistic than the uberretreat of preppers executing 5 paragraph op ords before formal patrols.  It is also much for feasible to assemble a capable two man buddy team:  you and your wife, or you and your hunting buddy, or you and your coworker can all develop those skills.  Throw in that neighbor Fudd family who has a shotgun and a hunting rifle and now you have maneuver (the buddy team) and overwatch/support by fire (the Fudds).

THE BAD

Some of the "good" aspects were not explored fully.  For example, at one point our protagonist has conflicts with his best friend as well as with an authoritarian HOA president.  These are settled quickly and easily, and everyone goes on to be bestest friends.  I think it would have been more interesting and perhaps realistic to explore these conflicts and interpersonal issues a bit more thoroughly.

There is a bit of a "deus ex machina" in that the character happens to be friends with a veteran buddy who has a secret basement full of guns and body armor.  Convenient, that.

THE UGLY

The book gets off to a jarring start as our hero shoots down a goblin who is shaking down local grocery store workers at gun point less than 72 hours into a crisis.  At this early point the police are nowhere to be found and our hero just wanders off.  Really?  I suspect that if you start gunning down thugs vigilante style in Wally World after day three of the next avian/swine/spider monkey flu then you won't just be walking away with your groceries from aisle 4.

Shortly thereafter, our hero does the same thing in the gas station line.  Really?

Finally, we get to roving bands of looter gangs burning down neighberhoods within a week or so.  Really?

I find the whole timeline of collapse to be a bit ridiculous.  Even if you buy that quick descent into Somalia-like anarchy, it is jarring for our protagonist who is theoretically motivated by an extreme desire to protect his child to go out of his way on multiple occasions to be the hero.  Getting into shootouts over bags of rice at Kroger or a tank of gas is pretty darn low on my priority list during the zombie apocalypse.  I understand that the postulation of a highly virulent, lethal plague requires an accelerated timeline of significant events but still, it was a bit crazy.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it an entertaining read.  As long as you can suspend disbelief a bit then it will go pretty well.

But I hear they never ever malfunction...

Used AK-74 for $1000 on the Alaska Outdoor Forums.

To be fair, it includes ten magazines and it is an Arsenal, but really, who spends over a grand on an AK-47 setup?  Especially with the price of ARs these days?

This and That

Kodi's six months old as of a week ago or so.  Little busy at the time, so no post until now!

We've spent the last week really drilling Gee and Haw and she's getting pretty good with those.  We start obedience classes tomorrow and I've got November's NAVHDA training day blocked out on the calendar.  I took her out yesterday and we ran a 5K.  It's the first time I've run more than a mile since we brought her home in May.  I've been slacking.  We got it done, though I'm feeling it in my legs today and got a blister.  Will need to keep on this.  I'm aiming for twice a week next week.

I'm officially a full RSO at the local range after my last 4 hours of "training" this morning.  My trainer took a break up at the house for a while since he was going to pull a double shift to keep the range open.  The guy running the place expressed concern that he'd left me alone, at which point the trainer said that I could probably teach them all something and I was perfectly fine.

A few other amusing things from the day:

Watched a young man running a Beretta.  He put the mag in, sighted in, and click.  Fiddles with the hammer, sights in, click.  Strips the mag out and checks the gun out.  Puts mag back in, sights in, click.  I wander over at this point and he just looks at me.  "Rack the slide," I suggest.  "...I knew I was forgetting something!"

Trainer: "That's a compact?  I thought you were carrying a full-size!"
Me: "Nah, I'm just so tiny, I make this look huge!"

Then I got to shoot a few rounds after my shift...

Trainer: "You know you can make more than one hole on the target, right?"
Me: "But that's wasteful!"

In other news, I'm very glad that I am in the habit of carrying a blow-out kit in my range bag and a larger kit in my car, as this range does not have acceptable (in my opinion) kits available.

Next Appleseed is going to be Gaston, SC the last weekend in October.  If you're in the area, please join us!  I'll be telling Second Strike, which I am both excited and nervous about!  I'm thinking of aiming to get my red hat at the Ramseur April 19 shoot.  Will have to see how much I can get done!

Bail a little harder, folks

Lately, I've been listening to NPR on my long commutes.  I usually hear something interesting and occasionally something irritating.  Whatever.

Today I heard something that nearly made me crash my car into a tree at 60mph.

"Wide-ranging social reforms produced cradle-to-grave welfare states that also kept civil and ideological strife at bay. "

This is apparently a reason to award the freakin' Nobel Peace Prize.  I don't know whether this one or Obama's is worse!

Your Own Facts: Body Armor

The difficulty with traveling is that you get tempted to surf around on the internet.  After reading all my normal blogs and studying for school for a few hours, I figured, heck, why not kill a few brain cells by checking out the latest word salad tossed by Joan Peterson, Brady Campaign Board Member?  I skipped the post and went right to the real action in the comments, where I found this gem:

It is well understood that Holmes was wearing body armor. Why argue about the kind anyway? There is no point to it.

The context is that Joan Peterson was discussing the "Batman" mass shooting.  She was arguing that it was impossible for anyone to take him out as he was wearing body armor.  Readers pointed out that no, he was not wearing a bulletproof vest.  He was wearing a load bearing vest meant to carry gear which is about as bulletproof as a windbreaker.  Clearly, reality does not impede on her world, however.

For Joan, "it is widely known" that he was wearing armor, so he was.  The end.  Just like "it was widely known" that the world is flat, or that the size and shape of your cranium affects your personality, and that astrology is a great way to predict the future.

News flash:  If 51% of people -- or even 95% of people -- believe something to be true, that does not make that information factually correct.  Facts are not subject to democratic processes.  We don't get to vote on what color the sky is, or what the weather was yesterday, or whether a moon-bat lunatic was wearing armor or not.  To think things work otherwise is plain and simple magical thinking.

This is why we don't have a democracy in America.

\\

Addendum:  Besides, so what if an attacker is wearing body armor?  If you shoot someone wearing a vest they will notice.  It is like getting hit with a sledgehammer or having a bowling ball dropped on you.  Another CCWer shot an attacker bent on mass murder who was wearing a vest and drove him off.  The goal is to disrupt the attacker's action, get inside their OODA loop, and stop their current attack.  Once you've landed a hit -- even on a vest -- you can follow up with more, flee the area and break contact, move in to physically restrain them, etc.  This is why we practice failure to stop drills, right?

I'm not saying it would be an easy shot.  I'm just saying that even when confronted with direct factual evidence that challenges her worldview and does not even impugn her central argument (even I would concede that such a shot would be a difficult one with a defensive pistol, body armor or not), Joan Peterson is unable to change her mind.

Water Storage

One of our big preparation weaknesses has been water.  When we lived in the desert for awhile, I stocked up on 5 gallon jugs (that being the most we could fit in our cramped living quarters and vehicles).

Now that we're in a hurricane area I wanted to remedy the water situation and bring it up to par with the rest of our preps.  Recently I added a "WaterBob," which is a 100 gallon container that goes in a bathtub to store clean water.  I figure it will be excellent for things like severe storms where there is some advanced notice to get it filled up.

More recently I added 55 gallon drums.  On Craig's List I found a local guy who sells them for around $20 each.  He is a traveling salesman that sells drums full of syrups and food additives.  The drums are food grade and he has no use for them once the contents are used up by his customers so he just wants to get rid of them.  I picked up three...  For the price it was hard to beat, and that's what would fit into my car for one load, so why not max out the buy?

I cleaned the drums out by rinsing them with a bleach solution overnight.  Next they each got a box of baking soda and a few gallons of water to soak up any remaining odors.  Finally, they got one more bleach solution and then a final rinse before being filled.  We now have two full 55 gallon drums and one more empty one which is being used as a whoa post for dog training but could be filled up if necessary.

Ready.Gov suggests at least one gallon of water per person per day.  I've done enough camping to know that one gallon per person per day is pretty spartan, especially in a hot climate.  That will mostly be needed for drinking and cooking.  If you want more water for sanitation then doubling that figure is not unrealistic.  Water is also needed for pets.

Based on 100 gallons in the drums plus another 30 in various containers, I figure that our current water storage is good for about 65 person/days of moderate usage, which is a month for the two of us and around one or two weeks with guests or helping the neighbors.  If we have sufficient warning to fill up the WaterBob and the spare drum then that basically doubles the supply.  Then again, with lots of warning of a big hurricane I will probably leave the area and go stay in a hotel out of the path of the storm!  With strict rationing, these figures could be doubled again.

So, while we don't have a full three month supply on hand we do have a credible month-plus supply of drinking water on hand, even if factoring in guests or helping neighbors.  This water supply upgrade was a long time coming but definitely shores up our number one preparedness weakness.  I'd still like to take a few more steps on this front.  Specifically, I need a hand pump to more easily get water out of the drums (right now dependent on siphoning), I wouldn't mind a nice stationary water filter (although we have plenty of other ways to treat water), and a renewable supply like a rain barrel that collects off the roof would be cool.  Still, this is definitely good progress and it was a very inexpensive project.

Book Review: Contact!

Ryan over at TSLRF recently read "Contact" and suggested it so on a whim I pulled it onto my Kindle and had a read.

I've got to say, I was not nearly as impressed as Ryan was.

The author starts by stating that one of his goals is not to regurgitate a lot of warmed over Army Field Manual type stuff.  Yet, the book is chock full of METT-TC, TLPs, and other basic army field manual type info.

The worst part, in my opinion, was an emphasis on platoon and company level operations.  I find it rather unlikely that any sort of "prepper" is going to end up orchestrating company level infantry movements.  Even the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, who are fighting a full on insurgent conflict, avoid massing in company level strength on a regular basis (it happens -- but is not a day to day occurance).

What is far more likely, in my opinion, is a single family unit consisting of mom, dad, and the kids taking care of themselves.  If they are lucky, one or two of the kids will be teenagers or young adults, or they can "double up" with some other adult relatives or another family.  At best we're talking squad sized units, not companies.

This misdirected focus took valuable pages away from more relevant skills:  what about individual movement techniques?  How about operating as a spotter/shooter "recon" type element with just two trigger pullers?  How do you provide 24/7/365x360 degree security with only 2-4 adults?  What compromises should be accepted and what technological tools can help solve the problems?  I realize that your tactical options are limited and marginal with 2-6 trigger pullers, but that's kind of the tactical problem, is it not?

Operating like conventional western uniformed military forces do is not a good plan for most preppers.  Conventional forces have crew served weapons, automatic machine guns, and serious indirect fires to facilitate fire and manuever.  They have excellent body armor and the best tactical medical care and CASEVAC that has ever been seen on the battlefield to mitigate hits.  The issues of what to do when those force multipliers are missing was not even addressed.

On the plus side, I got a lot out of the mounted ops chapter.  I feel that the author presented some tactics that came more from executive protection than from Fallujah that were very appropriate for transporting "precious cargo" like kiddos in a 2-3 vehicle convoy, which is pretty realistic for mom, dad, and the neighbors to pull off in the family cars.  This was really a high point of the book.  Another bright spot was the discussion of fire and movement, which was presented clearly and concisely.

Final verdict:  Is the book worth the price of admission?  If you have a background in small unit tactics, probably not.  The chapter in vehicle ops may be worth the price of admission alone, but other than that I didn't get a huge deal of new info out of the book.

Appleseed

Just wanted to throw this out there...

Today, I suggested to two different people that they attend an Appleseed shoot.  Both had the exact same response: "I'm not good enough for that."

If you think you're not good enough for an Appleseed, you are wrong.  You will learn, you will receive excellent (in my experience) instruction.  And beyond that, shooting isn't the most important aspect of an Appleseed.  Maybe I'm not the best person to say this, but Appleseed is not about how fast you can make Rifleman.  It could take you one shoot, it could take ten, it could take more.  That's not the point.  The point is learning, both about the fundamentals of becoming a Rifleman but also about the history of our country.  I was one of the ones who groaned at my first Appleseed when they said it was time to break for lunch and history.  I'd had bad (read: typical public school) experiences with history and regarded it as largely boring and pointless.  When I heard Lawrence tell the First Strike, though, I was hooked.

Anyway, the bottom line.  You are NOT too inexperienced for Appleseed.  Yes, I'm talking to you!  Get out there and do it!  You will learn a tons, and maybe even more than someone who already thinks they know all that there is to know!

Muzzle Brakes

I have a new rule for range courtesy:

If (A) your rifle has a muzzle brake

AND

(B) it does NOT have either (1) a magnum chambering or (2) a fully automatic happy switch or (C) the need to be compliant with a stupid AWB that bans flash hiders,

THEN

You are a douchebag and probably a wimp.  Seriously, who needs a muzzle brake to handle the ferocious recoil of a 5.56?

I may or may not have recently had a marginal experience shooting near someone with a rifle so-equipped...

Gender Roles

In the last week, Heather has expressed a desire for an M1A and a 1911.  I've been thinking about transitioning to 9mm and building an AR.

She calls me a wimp.

Palmetto State Armory Upper Sale

Lots of deals available...  16" pencil profile middies for $279, 20" stainless for $359 and 20" CMV for $329.

Palmetto State Armory is a new player on the AR market but their uppers all seem to be up to the upper-tier specs.  I've seen range reports of 1 MOA performance from a supported position.  That is not bad.  They are new, though, so it might be a bit of a gamble.  Still, their uppers are made by FN so it isn't like these are bargain basement franken-ARs.

As a comparison, BCM uppers are running $519 (entry level) these days, and that's their "sale" price.  That makes PSA about half the price.  I like my BCM upper a lot but I'm not sure that I like it twice as much as I'd like a PSA upper!   Spikes is going up in price too;  their baseline 16" bbl upper is runnng $550.