Monday, June 25, 2018

gear queers 1 of 2


GEAR QUEERS
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note: free books.  YA PA https://amzn.to/2yFTOb5 .  Zombie https://amzn.to/2yCuYss .  Another one https://amzn.to/2MTSMeu . 
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note: here is one article on the existing silver stocks globally.  Yes, they could be wrong-after all, they were pimping for Bitcoin.  Or, they could be right click here .  Now, here is an article from Daily Reckoning, who I'd trust in most cases, making the same argument.  click here .  And that was twelve years ago.  And I'm just now hearing of this?
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For close to my first year of “self-employment” ( it is hard to think of myself as a business owner when I vomit discontent and hate into the digital graveyard and people actually pay me to do so-but believe me I appreciate it anyway! ), I stayed busier than a dog without back legs trying to pee on a curb while staying dry, mostly by fixing eleven years of neglect being an editor, and almost doubling the number of books I publish.  Well, at this time the book muse is on vacation, and you can’t force that lazy bastard back to work-he gets to it when he gets to it.  And my web site and archieving is finally caught up.  So what occupies my time every day?  Mostly worrying about stupid crap.

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I don’t know how much of my perceived danger early warning system is genuine and how much is just Too Much Time On My Hands, although I really can’t see being too wrong by being extra paranoid.  But I find myself watching all these YouTube video’s as I pass the time on the exercise bike or rolling cigarettes so I can raise my middle finger at our glorious RINO governor, telling him to eat a dingus and die and he can keep his store bought cigarettes and their extra taxes.  And I can feel the effect on my extra sensitive brain.  I’ve immersed myself too far into the Pony Prepper universe. 

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I watched forty minutes just on polymer 80% receivers the other day, rolling extra cigarettes just to keep watching, and I don’t NEED any more information on them, nor will I ever ( well, 99% sure I’ll never ) want a AR-15, even if for no other reason than I need extra punch up here in our open windy terrain.  And I was never all that great at the range with the thing, so the extra accuracy would be lost of me.  And I certainly don’t need a semi-auto rifle.  If you are sniping away at 300 yards, why is an extra speedy mag change all that important, and why don’t you have time to cycle a bolt?

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Yes, I know, you negate the need to break cheek weld and etc.  I get that.  If you want a semi, I can’t talk you out of it.  It has advantages, certainly.  But being poor and saving on your ammo stockpile isn’t one of them.  So then, why the hell was I wasting half my video time today watching a presentation of the HK-91 clone as a survivalist rifle?  It isn’t because I haven’t run into most of this information during the last forty years.  It isn’t because there was nothing else to watch.  It isn’t because I’m going to break my consumer fast and turn greenbacks into gear.  It isn’t because I want to be a Gear Queer.

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Almost all of us are consumer hoarders.  I stuff every nook and cranny not devoted to prepping supplies with books, buying extra used travel trailers and vans for more storage.  I pretend books make me smarter, but then, every hoarder justifies his crap, doesn’t he?  Then they come out with Kindle books and I double down on paper books, thinking I better lay in my copy before the day only e-books are available, at least without a carbon tax ( not that this wouldn’t be far behind with e-books, as they use coal powered electric ).  Doubling down on wasteful behavior.  So now I’m wondering if guns aren’t just my new books, justifying wasteful consumerism.

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I really don’t think I’ll buy any more guns, although I should.  But you can use that “grass is greener” argument about everything.  One reason the Better Than Nothing rule is best stuck with.  Before you know it, you quit your job, get a divorce, move out of state and dye your hair.  You start to think happiness is one credit card purchase away.  I know better than to think I’ll fall for the hype to upgrade or ratchet up my perceived security, forearms wise.  Since I overanalyze everything, I’m still safely in the “two years to make up my mind after painful deliberations” phase.  What worries me is that if I don’t stop thinking about the subject, I’ll think on it way too long and eventually pull the cord just to stifle my inner voice.

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I am by no means bored.  Every day flies by and I sit down to read and I notice the day is nearly done and I have no idea where it went.  I’ll say I’m just unfocused.  I’m letting distractions intrude far more than usual.  Like shopping around for storage media to publish on, knowing any purchase is a waste as I’ll buy a 100 pack bulk stack and sell a half dozen in the next two years.  That is just twenty years of experience talking, and yet I look anyway.  Just like I know better than to assume a piece of equipment will even somewhat compensate for my lack of coordination. 

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As I said, I dare not ignore my muse.  The muse tells you to jump, you ask how high.  Screwing with the muse is dangerous.  I would like to know WHY, however.  Why am I on this consumerist window shopping shtick?  Am I going through withdrawal?  Am I thinking extra guns are a security blanket because I smell extra danger?  I never enjoyed buying.  Even looking for books became a chore after a time.  I used to go years living on nothing and almost never shopping.  Some months, I treated myself to an issue of Forbes magazine ( back when I believed them about economics ) and that was my entire non-food purchase for the month ( I already had cigarettes stocked up ).

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I think this is an instinctive reaction to perceived danger.  Just like I took my cash out of the bank, I also worry now if I have enough guns and ammo.  I mean, I THINK I do.  But then, I never worry about food anymore.  Past filling up soda and juice bottles with flour or sugar, and that is merely a variety from wheat kernels issue, I don’t worry about having enough food.  I feel secure there.  So, if I keep worrying about guns and ammo and protection, is that my subconscious telling me to worry more?  Or is it just my muse picking subject matter to file away, especially since I went long periods of time never focusing on firearms ( it being further down the list of important items )? 

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See, now I’m worrying about what I’m worrying about.  Being a writer just seems easier than it really is.  Your body takes it easy but your brain melts down from too high of revs.  Tomorrow I’d like to discuss how simple guns and arsenals are and why most of us are just Gear Queers about them.

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31 comments:

  1. Titles like gear queer are the reason people pay you.
    Instinct is a powerful thing don't sell it short, instinct has saved me from a hospital trip a few times.

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    1. My problem is I second guess instinct now. Too much of that unfocused time might be screwing with my head, making instinct suspect.

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  2. On gold to silver ratio and past valuations (i.e. one days hard labor priced at 1/10th of an ounce of silver for hundreds of years). I don't mold my decisions totally on past history or modern Wall Street valuations. Just thought it damned interesting in light of probable above ground shortfalls and constant loss in discarded electronics and elsewhere.
    I've read articles with calculations of how many ounces of silver are traded each day in the electronic nether,and how much physical is thought to exist in Comex warehouses. Of course there is always millions more E-silver traded than actually exists.
    Paying $20 for a one ounce Silver Eagle, and thinking that represented 10 days of hard labor seems like a bargain.
    Also, I was off on current gold to silver ratio. Looked it up: 1 to 77.72. Like I said, this number has zero influence on my purchasing- but is interesting in that it is another clue silver is cheap by many calculations.
    I understand your torment over do I have enough "fill in the blank". In this case guns.
    My nightmare is discovering I need something essential once 330 million other people discover the same thing and click-shop special item x to extinction.
    Also, got a John Michael Greer book I am enjoying. Green Wizardry: Conservation, Solar Power, Organic Gardening, and other Hands-On Skills from the Appropriate Tech Toolkit.

    S

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    1. I really enjoyed the Green Wizardry book myself. One of his better ones. I know I shouldn't throw stones in a glass house, but it was one of his few that was all practical hands on rather than philosophical, motivational or political/economical.

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  3. Long time ago when I was a spry young buk I had me a ho and when she was gummin' all over that popsicle my mind would wander as it's prone to do and when she detected I was distracted she'd give the ol' potato bag a good solid squeeze that brought me back to reality instantly.

    I read this line and it was like that squeeze:

    "If you are sniping away at 300 yards, why is an extra speedy mag change all that important, and why don’t you have time to cycle a bolt?"

    I keep wondering all the time why your angst about AR's and semi's in general and now I know why. Location, location, location.

    You can stand anywhere on my property and not be able to see more than about 100' in any direction, unless you get up high in the trees so that you can see out over the other trees. Your area ain't like that. If someones coming to get you you can see them a long way off. A bolt or lever will work in that situation. If they are 100-200 feet away your bolt will get shoved up your ass.

    Here, a bolt would get shoved up my ass cause as I said, they will be 100' away or less. I need a fast gun all the way around. Fast shooter and fast to reload. And when that expires my Beretta 92FS is just as fast to shoot and reload.

    So, again, mission determines the gear.

    Where you're at they'll see you from a long way off but they won't find me until it's too late to get out of the way of this hail of shrapnel.

    Regarding the attraction to shopping, exposure to other people and the media is the source. Turn all that stuff off and avoid people and you'll not be swayed so. But then you'd be bored and have to actually do something productive with your time, or sleep. Me? I'm finishing up a bathroom remodel I've been working on for the past month. But it's on temporary hold for the moment cause I just walked from the shop to the house and saw a big, fat, juicy deer laying in the yard about 50' away and I don't want to disturb him by walking back n forth. He might be my grocery store in the future and I want him to be comfortable around here.

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    1. I'll admit I too often forget plenty of folks live in the east with nothing but all trees or all buildings. I agree with you on the short distances and the rifle being shoved up your ass. Of course, in Florida I relied on my Enfield but had a 1911 as back-up, so I felt comfortable. Not that I should have. If you can't live in the jungle like Spud, you have little business living in that overpopulated area.

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    2. You have a point GS, but I hope you are using a caliber meant to wound and not kill. Just remember, it was a Canadian grunt with an Enfield that took out the Red Baron

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    3. I hadn't heard that about the Red Baron. I always "knew" ( assumed ) it was another pilot.

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    4. I must correct my post. I meant a round designed to kill and not wound. I was on break and failed to proof read before I hit send.

      Having said that, I would have pointed out 303 was standard ammo for the Spitfires until the US went all in. It took out a lot of Luftwaffe. But because the comment was about bolts and semis, I choose not to. I only added it because you seemed to be interested in historical content.

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    5. I had thought you had transposed the two words. Love historical content and context. History is tragically underappreciated.

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  4. Not all encounters are going to be at three hundred yards !
    Not too mention, those kind of distances until WROL takes full effect are considered murder...not defense...
    No doubt one needs capability and a larger bore weapon to facilitate the long ranges. Firstly and foremost, if one doesn't have the capability to shoot accurately at those type ranges...what is the point ?
    One needs the semi for those crackhead mezkins and whiggers which have a trailer ffty yards away !
    Like all things prepping, you must plan for all contingencies. Including the old spray and pray.
    The mistake most make is going with an AR. So actually your dreaming of an HK91 isn't off base. Tho pricey choice...

    Thought you only smoked one cig per day ? Why on Earth do you feel the need to stuff multiple tubes ?

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    1. The NOL smokes a smidge more than me-about a half pack a day. By HK91, I usually mean the generics. The C308 is about $700-$800 I believe. Still pricey, but I'd rather go that route than an AR 308 ( unless I 80% milled my own, then half the price of the 91 clone ).

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    2. Go with hk-clone, +/or: fal, m1a, not ar-10. The ar 10 is not a combat PROVEN gun. Parts are more prolific and mags for hk91 g3 are cheap and around in quantity.

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    3. Granted, the AR is ONLY for gross frugality situation. I might elect for an SKS in that case anyway. The lack of mags and the 1/3 price ammo would pay off the gun quickly, and I'm not hitting much past 200 yards anyway so the stopping power up til then is sufficient for the trade off. Honestly, I should do that now anyway as the Enfield has become a bigger problem but I'm loathe to give up the dream. Let alone the cost issue.

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    4. Check out a post over at american partisan, concerning gun comparisons, etc it was good info.

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    5. The c308 is an okay copy. The trigger pack is not a copy of hk. It is a commercial variant/different parts. The rest of the gun is similar as hk 91/g-3/cetme. Oh, the rear sight if different, not windage adjustable. U tube study on it some is needed. The greek s.a.r. is a real close-best copy.

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    6. I looked around the site at AP-can you help me a bit where the gun comparison article is?

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    7. I don't know if I like that about the trigger pack. They are supposed to be tanks, yet a non copy part smells like trouble.

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    8. It is the 6/23/2018 article on compact fighting rifles. Just a short bit from j.c. dodge about the ar 10, etc. Some decent info contained within. Like anything info wise it has to be sifted/digested etc.

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    9. Yeah, I have a spare trigger pack I can modify-cut the box to make it fit a civillian lower trigger housing and have a spare or upgrade it. Robert Rtg is a company that has hk parts. Price wise you may get an ak 47 close to what the sks goes for nowadays, and you will be outfitted for Wolverines duty.

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    10. I like the SKS for its stripper clips, no banana mag, in theory stiffer action. I'd be turning it into a bolt anyway.

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    11. 3:43-thanks. I'll check it out. I have Bostons Gun Bible handy, and plan on one day condensing all the info on the 308's for an article. But that is when I'm REALLY ambitious. Although I suppose I could go for book length...

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  5. You are being subconciously influenced living in society and being exposed to consumerism. It is a subtle and background noise type influencing effect. Also as one gets older they begin to have concerns or fears not present when younger. This causes purchasing decisions based on those fears or concerns. Us survivalists tend to go gear queer to satisfy those fears and concerns. At least the items are purposeful and not spending on sneakers or big chrome rims on s.u.v.s,etc.

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    1. I never could understand the spending of big bucks on tire rims. Just the upkeep alone...

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  6. Ultimately we only need one gun and one bullet.

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  7. I’d put your money into something that you would more likely need if society were to collapse, such as a few effective cache’s out at the remote parcel. If society were to unravel, you can’t stay where you are now, and your close by Elko parcel will be worthless as well, assuming that the thieves even left you anything by the time that you made your way out there. (Your house will be hit first, and then you will lose all of your preps).

    While you’re at it, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to cache a Saturday night special and some ammo out there. That can be your “liberator pistol” should you find yourself unarmed once you make your way out there.

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    1. Believe me, I know I'm slacking. I've cached, but not in the best places.

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  8. FAL para and AKM folder were mentioned positively. Both are good designs. I've been looking for a pre-ban para folder since the late 1990's for under $2000, with no luck. AKM was not on my shopping list because a compact AR does the same job cheaper (not quite as short folded)when ammo and mags are included. Always looking at g-sales for rusty old Soviet weaponry to work on. These are the original "ghost gun".

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    1. I'm still thinking an AR is too fragile, compared to almost all other designs, but you bring what you have to the party, and are comfortable with.

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  9. Stole this from the latest woodpile report

    Prior to WWI, it was all about long range accuracy, as if every battle would be fought by who could take out who at 1,000 meters. The result were very long barreled rifles such as the Gewehr 98 and cartridges designed to kill a horse a kilometer distant. Great if everything was fought in a world of wheat fields with no trees, trenches, terrain, buildings, cities, or movement, sure.

    Long range shooting is tons-o'-fun. Been there. First with the .25-06, then the .22-250, hand loading with premium components, astronomy-grade scope, one ragged hole in a target half a county away, blah blah. But for the survivalist it makes no sense.

    Let's get real. The survivalist has to carry his rifle everywhere, along with everything else he needs. A carbine or light sporter with meat ammo serves his purpose better than a bull barrel getup weighing up like a cinder block. Notice I said survivalist, not a designated sniper in a combat situation.

    A survivalist who offers himself as a target at many hundreds of yards has bigger problems than snipers. He's chosen ground making him easy prey for even a so-so shooter. In the wooded hills, clear lines of sight are going to max out at something like two hundred yards in winter, less than half that in summer. Western mountain dweller's heads would explode from claustrophobia around here. For a reasonably experienced survivalist, a handy rifle capable of an honest 2 MOA topped with a low to medium power scope is entirely adequate.

    If it ever comes down to extended shootouts with bad guys, a genuine battle rifle is needed, one that will withstand outright abuse, thirty caliber or thereabouts to reliably knock down a determined opponent even if he's behind what would otherwise be good cover. Exhibitionists prancing around ankle-deep in brass can be calmed down even more economically.

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