Preparations Update

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I tried to make black powder when I was a teen. I mixed the ingredients and put them in a tin can. I was about to light it off when I realized that the can would get hot and I really didn't want to get in trouble for a black ring on my bedroom floor. I moved the can to the middle of the street and lit it off. When it quit burning 3/4 of the can was gone and the last bit was easily crumbled rust.

I learned two lessons that day. My gunpowder mixture needed some refinement and I wasn't going to be the one to sort that out. I

The after story on this venture is that when my mom was dating my stepdad one of their friends found the half empty jar of saltpeter in the car and said, "Hey John, look what she's feeding you." I got in more trouble for that than making the gunpowder.
 
Yes he did kinda jump the gun with excitement on the BP exercise. Lately I have made some pretty good BP you havta set up your on ball mill. If unz Think about it a flintlock smoothbore or rifle is the ultimate in the long term survival hunting firearm.
 
Just got back from Hawaii, wife stayed one more week and I had to come back to work and shovel some snow yuk:(. While there took Grandkids to Pearl Harbor, as a vet I'd never been. Impressed w the Battleship Missouri and Bowfin sub tours. USS Arizona Memorial was sobering, even they at a young age realized the gravity of events. My daughter, son-in-law and I went to the Aviation museum as an AF vet I was dialed in on the aircraft. All of us learned some history. Managed to get my workouts in while there. Yes I exercise while on vacation. Did some swimming and snorkeling to keep those skills up to speed especially open ocean. Enjoyed a lot of good coffee. Drank some rum too.:cool:
 
Caribou said:
I tried to make black powder when I was a teen. I mixed the ingredients and put them in a tin can. I was about to light it off when I realized that the can would get hot and I really didn't want to get in trouble for a black ring on my bedroom floor. I moved the can to the middle of the street and lit it off. When it quit burning 3/4 of the can was gone and the last bit was easily crumbled rust.

I learned two lessons that day. My gunpowder mixture needed some refinement and I wasn't going to be the one to sort that out. I

The after story on this venture is that when my mom was dating my stepdad one of their friends found the half empty jar of saltpeter in the car and said, "Hey John, look what she's feeding you." I got in more trouble for that than making the gunpowder.
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When I was in the eighth grade our spelling book listed salt peter, sulfur and charcoal, in those days the local drug stores had those things on the shelves, I did some research for the percentages but didn't come up with much so I experimented until I got the fastest burning mix, only thing I didn't do is to make cake but my mix was good enough to go boom in a capped 1/2" galvanized water pipe, I knew better than put any projectile on top of the newspaper wad containing the powder, I'd seen pipes split from freezing and knew they wouldn't take a contained charge that a projectile could cause. The blast was loud enough to wake up the neighborhood, but in those days no one got too upset about those kind of things, I can't imagine what would happen in these days. Years ago I had a neighbor that had a cannon and made his own BP, he set it off on New Years many years ago and it sounded like someone blew a case of dynamite.
 
On the BP issue the base formula is just that a start, I had to adjust my mix a bit before getting a burn rate that performed very well in a rifle. (confirmed by back to back chronograph readings) Plus remember to get a stable mix you will have to "corn" the powder.
 
ssonb said:
On the BP issue the base formula is just that a start, I had to adjust my mix a bit before getting a burn rate that performed very well in a rifle. (confirmed by back to back chronograph readings) Plus remember to get a stable mix you will have to "corn" the powder.
Click to expand...

Do you use water or alcohol to corn your powder? What kind of press do you use? When I was making black powder I used rubbing alcohol - 70% alcohol and 30% water - to get the best of both worlds. My biggest problem was making small batches. It is more difficult to get batch to batch consistency than when making a single batch.
 
Just water, I was taught by an older gentleman years ago to only make about one pound of BP at a time that amount was enuf to last over a year and it was a safety factor also, he said one pound will not usually burn down your cabin. The consistency can be reduced by using a selection of measuring spoons good records and now that you have a chrono . a way to velocity test that is what counts.
 
Yea, I got the same advice from my mentor. I wasn't making mine for guns though, it was for rocket engines. I only made about 12 ounces at a time as that was enough for three to four engines. I have tried all kinds of combinations for rocket fuel but black powder is the safest to use. some of the others were,... less than ideal? :)
 
My eyesight is failing and not just because of age and so with the future in mind and what's coming down the pike
I've started buying reading glasses from "el Cheapo" stores in progressively stronger magnifications.

A vital sense like eyesight degenerates so planning to keep yourself visually functional for as long as possible is a necessity.
 
That is one of the things I have in my cache sites. I also include sunglasses for snow blind. I put several different glasses in a glass jars for each site. Libraries often have old glasses that people donate, they are free.
 
Tank-Girl: The reading glasses are a good idea. I keep spare prescription glasses but it is also a good idea regarding the spare reading glasses.

VirginPrepper: The spare sunglasses are a real good idea too. I keep spares also, not for snow blindness but for all the beautiful very sunny days here.
 
Every three years my insurance will put a certain amount towards hearing aids. This year I went to buy another aid and they don't make my model but she had a used pair in stock that I could get for less than the price of one. That leaves me with a few bucks in reserve for repairs if I need it. With five matching hearing aids now I figure that I'm set.
 
I got my case of emergency food rations the other day. There is a company in Oxnard CA that manufactures all sorts of emergency goodies. The name is Survivor Industries Inc. http://survivorind.com/ There gear is primarily for stocking life boats on big ships. Even the US military has bought from them.

The company has been around since 1983. In 1989 they developed and began manufacturing “Mainstay Emergency Food Rations”. They are lemon flavored wafers, non-thirst provoking. The bars have a guaranteed shelf life of 5 years but when kept in a temperature stable environment I’ve found they last about 7 years before they start to go bad.

I learned of them in ’91 when I repaired a catscan just down the street from their headquarters. I used to buy the 3600 calorie bars but I have found the 2400 calorie bars work better for me.

Their customer service is a bit slow, it’s a small company. It’s not like ordering from amazon. They sell to the public but their main customers… large contracts with governments and shipping companies. So, just be aware who you dealing with…

I love the food ration bars. A case of 20… about 20 days rations, that’s about $100. I like the idea that I can lay quietly for about 20 days with no need to cook. They also sell emergency drinking water sealed in mylar.

Emergency food rations_v1.jpg
 
Nice to know about a solid source of MRE type foods. Now if I did my math correctly (not always the case) the ration bars cost about $5.00 ea. So are these Ration Bars a full meal or are they like granola bars? I am not trying to be cute, just not sure of the term --- Ratio Bar--.
 
Yes, about $5 for the 2400 calorie bars, the 3600 bars are more but I haven't bought those in a couple of decades. They are a full meals/daily ration with all the recommended vitamins, minerals and fiber etc recommended by the Feds. The fat content is why they begin to spoil after 5 years. Basically, if you were stuck in a life boat at sea for a month this non-thirst provoking food would meet all your daily requirements.

The last time I really relied on them... the apr 2011 tornado outbreak. I had no tornado damage but was without electricity for 9 or 11 days, don't remember which. I have a gas stove, once I ate up the food in the fridge I munched on my wafers for the next week or so. ;)

I used the generator to keep the freezers cold, ran out of fuel after 5 days and then had to make a fuel run.
 
It's not a bad deal at all. @TMT Tactical You live out there close to them, even a better deal for you. The down side for us in the eastern US is shipping. A 2400 calorie bar weighs 1lb 1.3 ounces. That's 21.65lbs for a 20 bar case not counting the box. :(

This last order with the slowest UPS shipping cost me $50 in shipping, so about $7.50 per day. Still not a bad deal given the shelf life and the fact you don't have to cook or do much of anything to give away your location.

The 3600 calorie bars weigh exactly 1/3 more. Just thought everyone should be aware... :)

In the last 27 years I've done business with this company my only complaint is slow customer service. Their products are excellent. :)

I have to add... in the 90's I traveled a lot on business in a lot of northern cities. On more than a few occasions I've been trapped in a hotel during a 2 day snow storm. The full ration bars beat the heck out of chips from the vending machine. I always traveled with a couple in my suitcase.

In the last 18 years I've been back in the southeast in a rural area. On average I lose power once per month. If the weather is bad an outage can last a couple of days... I love my lemon flavored wafers... ;)
 
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Good week prepping from the mundane changing batteries in smoke detectors to picking up some fish mox. Sorted my water filtering and medical supplies into separate totes I was becoming a hoarder as opposed to prepper. hiked into BOL yesterday to drop off some gear and check on cabin. A lot more snow than previous years and I'm not a fan of snowshoes. Pretty hard trip.
 
This week so far we have stocked up on 7 boxes of paracetamol from a cheaper pharmacy that we found saving $13.23 on prices we were previously paying and also purchased 3 months worth of probiotic tablets for DH also on under half price special compared to elsewhere saving another $20.06.

It is amazing that in 1 small country town that a 100pk of paracetamol can vary from $1.89 to $2.99 and probiotic gummies 90pk can vary from $9.97 through to $20 :eek:. Really pays everyone to check their prices and now we have 3 pharmacies in town all online it is easier to check prices so DH doesn't have to walk long distances with his back injuries.
 
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viking said:
When I was in the eighth grade our spelling book listed salt peter, sulfur and charcoal, in those days the local drug stores had those things on the shelves, I did some research for the percentages but didn't come up with much so I experimented until I got the fastest burning mix, only thing I didn't do is to make cake but my mix was good enough to go boom in a capped 1/2" galvanized water pipe, I knew better than put any projectile on top of the newspaper wad containing the powder, I'd seen pipes split from freezing and knew they wouldn't take a contained charge that a projectile could cause. The blast was loud enough to wake up the neighborhood, but in those days no one got too upset about those kind of things, I can't imagine what would happen in these days. Years ago I had a neighbor that had a cannon and made his own BP, he set it off on New Years many years ago and it sounded like someone blew a case of dynamite.
Click to expand...

When I was a young kid the drug store still sold leeches for black eyes. They also kept blocks of chalk for pregnant womens heartburn, I remember mama chewing on a chunk of it when PG with my sister. The phamacist was made up concoctions for ailments.
 
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