Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: The following review was written and submitted by Prepper Journal associate Hans Brix. Images courtesy of the author.

For AR-15 lovers, we live in a golden age of price and availability. You can buy good quality, fully assembled lowers for $130, and stripped receivers in the $40 range. Given the multitude of manufacturers of $200 parts kits and $500 complete rifles AR-15s, why would anyone go to the trouble of ordering and milling an 80% lower?

Because you can.

The handyman can

I am one of the first to admit that when God was handing out the Handyman gene, I was skipped. The only things I’ve been successful at working on have been firearms and guitars. I’ve assembled several AR-15 rifles from parts kits and a stripped receiver. I’ve added or polished up safeties and sears in several handguns, installed and sighted-in rifle scopes and installed aftermarket triggers and sights on Glocks and 1911 handguns.

But a gunsmith I am not. In fact, I have an old “Lemon-squeezer” style revolver I took apart and can’t get it back together right. There’s a limit to my skills.

I’d read about the whole 80% lower ‘market’, but never really investigated it since AR receivers are affordable and trepidation with my aforementioned lack of skills. So, when 5D Tactical asked if I’d like to review their new router jig, I thought it would be a fun and interesting project.

The jig is up!

Nevertheless, finishing an 80% AR lower couldn’t have been easier with 5D Tactical’s new AR15 Router Jig Pro. It was so straightforward, I’d say that if you can follow instructions and wind up with a receiver that doesn’t work, you didn’t actually follow the instructions.

When the package from 5D Tactical arrived, it contained the jig, several drill bits, and two specially designed end-mills for the included Rigid router and an 80% lower blank. The instruction manual straight forward and has images to demonstrate how to use the jig. 

Nevertheless, I was still worried. I didn’t do well in my junior high school woodworking class and had never run a mill or router before. The closest I’d gotten was Dremel tool I used for smoothing the finger grooves of my Glock Gen 3 frame. I didn’t want to mess up the project.

The folks at 5D Tactical were able to talk me off the ledge and assure me I could do it. “Just go slow, pay attention to what you’re doing, and make sure you use sufficient WD-40 or thread cutting oil. You should be able to get 4-5 receivers completed per end-mill.”

Armed with that knowledge, I headed to a friend’s shop; the prospect of having aluminum chips all over my garage meant doing at home wasn’t likely, even though it was way more convenient. This wound up being a good decision, because it wound up way messier than I expected.

RTFM!

After laying out the part on the bench, I read the instructions and assembled the jig around my receiver. It’s very straightforward and intuitive, especially if you’re familiar with AR receivers. Once assembled, I went to install the end mill and router base plate to the router.

Here was where I stumbled.

Due to the variety of routers available, the instructions didn’t contain any information on HOW to install the endmill and baseplate, and since I’d never used a router before, I had no frame of reference from which to draw. I went to 5D’s website on my phone, since I had no computer and a sketchy LTE connection.

Their website shows several different end mills available based on the router you have. It’s possible, therefore, to purchase the wrong mill for your router if you don’t pay attention or, like me, know what you’re doing. Since 5D had supplied both the router and endmill, that possible error was eliminated, but it’s something to pay attention to before ordering.

Thankfully, my friend had experience using routers, so he watched to make sure I was installing things correctly. In looking things over, I guessed I needed to remove the plastic router base plate then install the 5D baseplate, using the supplied screws. I almost installed the baseplate incorrectly; the cutout should face the opening in the router closest to you, as you can view the milling process in that gap. This was the biggest issue I faced during setup.

Since sitting down to write this article, I discovered a whole page of instructions, including assembly video and router endmill installation guide, at 5D’s website. I just wish I’d looked over the website sooner, as it would have saved me some grief.

Taking care of business

Once everything was put together, I clamped the jig into the vise. Using the supplied 5/32” drill bit, I took the cordless drill to it after a few drops of thread cutting oil. The drill powered through it easily, just make sure to use an oil/lube. Once that was done, it was time to mill.

Making sure I used the shortest pins, I adjusted the depth to match the guidelines on the jig depth adjustment guides. There is a total of 21 passes you’ll need to make, from the very first cut after drilling the pilot hole, to the 21^st that cuts the trigger hole.

Adjustments are in small increments (I don’t know the spacing/depth) for a reason. I didn’t have reading glasses handy, so it was difficult to see if I was lined up with the depth markings, meaning a few times I went over…maybe 1.5-2 lines instead of one line. 

That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was VERY noticeable when milling, as the bit cut more slowly and started to chatter. I was able to get through those cuts by going more slowly than I had when I made correct adjustment. After a couple of times having that happen, I made sure to err on the side of slightly less adjustment. While it might have taken longer overall by needing to make more cuts, each cutting step was much easier and eliminated all chatter when I went shallower.

After the milling was finished, I got the cordless drill and the other two drill bits and, using some cutting oil and the bushed guide holes in the jig, drilled the safety selector hole and the hammer and trigger pin holes. The drill bit for the safety selector is long enough to go through both sides, but the trigger and hammer pins needed to be drilled from each side. 

Finishing touches

After about an hour, I was finished. We blew away the excess chips, wiped off the cutting oil and admired my handiwork. Then we pulled out the parts bin and completed my lower assembly. All the internals fit great, and the holes for the safety and trigger assembly pins lined up perfectly. We then grabbed some ammo and a couple of uppers and went shooting. My new lower worked flawlessly. 

My friend had several 80% lowers he wanted to finish, so I left the jig with him after I went home. He reported an issue with drilling the plunge hole. Either I had used too much pressure or..something…he said the bit I left looked warped and wouldn’t cut at all. He used one of his own bits and said it worked fine and cannot explain what happened. But on subsequent receivers, he had the same issue with his bit.

For the next two receivers he wound up NOT drilling the plunge hole, and said he got through the process fine. He told me he held router tilted back at an angle, and once the mill was up to speed, would slowly lower it to create the first cut for that depth. When he got to the third step, he made sure to be extra careful so he didn’t mess up the trigger hole. He assembled the three receivers and they worked fine.

Something borrowed, something blue

Interestingly, he has the original 5D Tactical jig and likes new jig much better: 

• The bushings for the safety selector and trigger/hammer pins in the Pro jig made drilling those holes much easier, since he didn’t have to worry as much about damaging the base blocks when drilling them.  
• The larger and heavier support bases were easier to clamp and more secure.
• The support for the receiver extension tube ‘ring’ is much easier to attach, is more secure, and has the vacuum attachment.

Overall, I learned a lot doing this project. Given how affordable complete receivers are, I’m not sure it makes sense from a cost-saving standpoint. But that’s not why a lot of people do this. I asked my friend why he likes doing his 80% receivers so much, when finished lowers are so affordable.

“First, because I can, and I like building things. Also, there may come a day when AR15 rifles are harder to own,” he said. “Having a pile of these finished, or waiting to be finished, is my way of making sure they’ll be available to me. So, paying a little more for an 80% receiver that isn’t in any database is, if you will, a Freedom Tax.”

I can support that.

Lessons learned

• Make sure the end-mill is in the pilot hole and has spun up completely to full speed before starting cuts. It’s less likely to jump or walk (I only did this once).
• Take your time. When I tried to go faster than I probably should have, the mill would start chattering, even on ‘shallow’ cuts. You don’t have to go at a snail’s pace, but don’t try and do a complete pass in 10 seconds. 
• Wear long sleeves – even though they’re aluminum chips, they’re hot when they come off the mill.
• Wear a shop apron – this saved me from getting completely covered in chips.
• The shop vacuum attachment mostly works – I used the vacuum attachment, and while it mitigated some of the chip flying, especially for the first few passes in guide #1, the mill still tossed ships all over the place, and there were piles of chips on the vise and bench. As the cuts deepened, a lot of chips stayed in the receiver.

Finally, I’d like to thank the folks at 5D Tactical for reaching out and supplying the equipment needed to make this work, without any preconditions. All they asked for was an honest review. 

As a courtesy, I provided them a copy of this review beforehand in order to ensure I hadn’t made any missteps during the process but was clear I wouldn’t change my opinion. I questioned the increased number of depth-adjustment hashmarks in the jig I got versus the jig in the video, and they told me they increased the number in order to make shallower passes and extend the life of the endmill, meaning more lowers per bit.

If you’ve ever had a thought about finishing 80% AR-15 receivers, let me assure you, if I can do it, anyone can. And you can’t go wrong with 5D Tactical’s AR-15 jig.

The post Reviewing the 5D Tactical AR Router Jig Pro appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

The mysteries surrounding this COVID-19 pandemic just keep getting deeper and deeper.  When you catch a virus, you are not supposed to test positive, fully recover and test negative, and then some time later start testing positive again.  But this is actually happening in an alarming number of cases, and scientists are absolutely baffled by this.  The information that I am about to share with you is quite disturbing, and hopefully scientists will eventually be able to explain to us precisely why this is taking place.

On Monday, headlines all over the globe breathlessly declared that 51 coronavirus patients in the South Korean city of Daegu had “tested positive again” after supposedly fully recovering…

FEARS have been raised that the coronavirus may be able to remain in the body and “reactivate” later after 51 recovered patients tested positive again.

The patients, from the city of Daegu, South Korea, had all spent time in quarantine while recovering from the virus, but were diagnosed again within days of being released.

At this point, nobody knows how to explain this.

Could it be possible that the tests were faulty?

Could it be possible that these patients became infected a second time?

The researchers that studied these patients are rejecting both of those explanations and instead are floating the theory that the virus “reactivated” in these particular victims…

The 51 cases were identified as part of a study conducted in Daegu, the epicentre of the outbreak in South Korea, by a team of epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The center said it did not believe the patients had been reinfected, but that the virus had remained at undetectable levels in their cells and later “reactivated”.

But of course the truth is that they don’t really know why this is happening.

And similar cases have been popping up all over China for quite some time.  In fact, “second-time infections” have been documented “in many regions”…

As China releases more patients who have recovered from the coronavirus, there are an increasing number who are testing positive for the second time. The State Council ’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism said last Saturday that second-time infections have been reported in many regions, including Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, and Hubei province, where Wuhan is the capital city.

Needless to say, it is likely to have a tremendous impact on public policy if scientists are able to confirm that “second-time infections” can happen very rapidly following a full recovery, and so it is absolutely imperative that scientists get to the bottom of this mystery as rapidly at possible.

So far, researchers in China are reporting that “between 3 and 10% of cured patients became reinfected” shortly after fully recovering from the virus.  The following comes from Fox News…

As many as 10% of recovered coronavirus patients in China tested positive again after being discharged from the hospital, according to a report.

Doctors on the front lines of the outbreak in Wuhan, China — where the virus emerged — reported that between 3 and 10% of cured patients became reinfected with the illness, though it’s unclear whether they were contagious the second time, the South China Morning Post reported.

In the western world, there has been a lot of talk about how it will be “safe” for those that have had the virus to go back to work once they recover because of the immunity that they will have supposedly acquired.

But that may not be a safe assumption to make.

This virus appears to behave very unusually, and making a wrong choice can be the difference between life and death.

In one very alarming case in Wuhan, China, a 36-year-old man that became a confirmed coronavirus case was admitted to the hospital on February 12th.  Two weeks later he was released after he was deemed to have “fully recovered”, but that was not the end of the story…

A 36-year-old man has died of respiratory failure in Wuhan, five days after being discharged from one of the makeshift hospitals built to contain the outbreak, according to a report by Shanghai-based news portal The Paper.
The report, which was later removed, said Li Liang had been admitted to the hospital – built to treat patients with mild and moderate symptoms – on February 12, according to his wife, surnamed Mei. He was discharged two weeks later with instructions to stay in a quarantine hotel for 14 days.

On March 2nd, Li Liang died, and the death certificate clearly stated that COVID-19 was the cause.

But that wasn’t supposed to happen.  He was supposed to have made a complete recovery.

Something isn’t adding up.

Hopefully our scientists will be able to unravel this mystery very soon, because the death toll is rapidly rising.

The very first coronavirus death in the United States happened on February 29th, and now here we are just over a month later and more than 10,000 Americans have perished…

There were 10,335 deaths as of Monday afternoon, according to the Johns Hopkins dashboard, which tracks the numbers.

That total surpasses the number of battle deaths from six U.S. wars combined, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

VA data says a total of 9,961 soldiers died on the battlefield during these six wars: The American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War and Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

This pandemic has escalated so dramatically in the U.S. that nearly the entire nation is currently shut down and creepy drones that are barking orders to “maintain social distancing” are hovering over parks in New York City…

WATCH: A drone was seen flying over a Manhattan park on Saturday, urging pedestrians to “maintain social distancing.” https://t.co/5J9DLlunRB pic.twitter.com/VuNu1etBnW

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 5, 2020

Our society has been fundamentally transformed in just a matter of weeks by this pandemic, and many believe that our problems have just begun.

But at this moment there is a lot of optimism in America because the numbers are not growing quite as rapidly as they were last month.

That is definitely a promising sign, but it is only happening because most people are confined to their homes right now.

Once people start resuming their normal activities, that will give the virus a lot more opportunities to spread, and we shall see what happens at that point.

Hopefully these mysteries surrounding COVID-19 can quickly be resolved, because it looks like we will be fighting this virus for a long time to come, and we need the best information that we can possibly get.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.  During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

There’s no doubt that the Coronavirus and COVID-19 are having an affect on what used to be a normal life. Hopefully, it’ll soon return to that. For some, anyway.

I happen to fall into one of the high-risk categories due to age and some related health issues, so for the moment I’m holed up with very minimal (physical) contact with the outside world. I honestly don’t know how this will play out.

As you might expect, we’re pretty well stocked on supplies to get us through the near term. As long as I treat everyone on the outside as a “zombie” I need to avoid, I should be OK for awhile.

I just thought I would check in to see how you are all weathering this.

I don’t care if you think it’s “just the flu” or if this is a conspiracy by the Illuminati to impose martial law. That’s not my question.

How are you doing? Comment below.

(Note: unfortunately, the ‘reply’ feature in the comments isn’t working for readers…I can still reply in comments using the site’s admin section. You’ll have to start new replies. We’re still trying to figure this out.)

The post How Are You Faring? appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Approximately ten million Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits over the past two weeks.  To put that in perspective, the all-time record for a single week before this coronavirus pandemic hit was just 695,000.  So needless to say, 6.6 million claims in a single week puts us in uncharted territory.  Just check out this chart.  We have never seen a week like this before, and we may never see a week quite this bad again.  Of course millions more jobs will be lost in the months ahead as this pandemic stretches on, but it is hard to imagine another spike like we just had.  When you add the last two weeks together, somewhere around 10 million Americans have filed new unemployment claims during that time period…

The torrent of Americans filing for unemployment insurance skyrocketed last week as more than 6.6 million new claims were filed, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That brings to 10 million the total Americans who filed over the past two weeks.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected 3.1 million for last week, one week after 3.3 million filings in the first wave of what has been a record-shattering swelling of the jobless ranks. The previous week’s total was revised higher by 24,000.

As I have documented repeatedly in my articles, survey after survey has shown that most Americans were living paycheck to paycheck even during the “good times”.

Now that those paychecks aren’t coming in anymore for millions of Americans, a lot of bills aren’t going to get paid.

Just like we witnessed in 2008, mortgage defaults are about to skyrocket, and Wall Street is bracing for the worst…

Borrowers who lost income from the coronavirus, which is already a skyrocketing number as the 10 million new jobless claims in the past two weeks attests, can ask to skip payments for as many as 180 days at a time on federally backed mortgages, and avoid penalties and a hit to their credit scores. But as Bloomberg notes, it’s not a payment holiday and eventually homeowners they’ll have to make it all up.

According to estimates by Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi, as many as 30% of Americans with home loans – about 15 million households – could stop paying if the U.S. economy remains closed through the summer or beyond.

As I noted yesterday, the St. Louis Fed expects the unemployment rate to eventually hit 32 percent.  That won’t happen immediately, but if we do get there it will be worse than anything that we witnessed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Because of all the shutdowns that have been instituted nationwide, economic activity has already dropped to levels that we have never seen before in our entire history.

Personally, I was absolutely astounded when the latest box office numbers were released…

The Domestic Box office (movie theaters) brought in a whopping $5,179 for the week of Mar 20-26. Down 100% from $204,193,406 the same week a year ago… These numbers are just incredible.

And even once all the “shelter-in-place” orders have finally been lifted, a substantial portion of the population will not want to go to movie theaters anymore due to fear of catching the virus.

Many movie theaters that have closed down will simply never open up again.

Another thing that has really surprised me is how rapidly many Americans have run out of food.  A Daily Mail article that documented a line of vehicles a half mile long at a church in Orlando that was giving out food received a lot of attention today…

Today, the hundreds of families flocking to a church parking lot across town from Orlando’s iconic resorts and theme parks are here for a starkly different reason: survival.

‘In the amusement parks, the purpose or the outcome is about having joy or a thrill,’ says mom-of-three Glenda Hernandez, winding down her window to speak with a DailyMail.com reporter.

‘This is about having a child’s belly full for the night or the next couple of nights on whatever they give us.’

How is it possible that so many families are out of food already?

And apparently charities and food banks all over the country are seeing similar surges in demand.  Here are just a few examples that were shared by the Guardian…

• In Amherst, home to the University of Massachusetts’ largest campus, the pantry distributed 849% more food in March compared with the previous year. The second-largest increase in western Massachusetts was 748% at the Pittsfield Salvation Army pantry.
• The Grace Klein community food pantry in Jefferson county, which has the largest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Alabama, provided 5,076 individuals with food boxes last week – a 90% increase on the previous week.
• In southern Arizona, demand has doubled, with pantries supplying groceries to 4,000 households every day – double the number supplied in March 2019. “We saw an increase during the federal government shutdown but nothing as rapid, massive or overwhelming as this,” said Michael McDonald, CEO of the Community Food Bank of South Arizona.

If things are this bad already, how much worse will the suffering be a month or two down the road?

Meanwhile, U.S. farmers are facing problems of their own.

Because of all the shutdowns, it has been difficult for farmers to get enough workers into their fields.  The following comes from CNN…

April and May are critical planting and harvesting times for many US farmers. They need skilled laborers to work their fields, and a reliable supply chain to deliver their goods. And they don’t have any time to waste.

If farmers can’t find enough workers or if their farming practices are disrupted because of the pandemic, Americans could have less or pricier food this summer. And because international farmers and their supply chains face similar problems, we could receive fewer food imports, potentially limiting supply and driving up prices.

Of course the main thing that is going to drive up prices is the fact that the system is being absolutely flooded with new money.  Many Americans have applauded the recent moves by the Federal Reserve, and just about everyone seems thrilled that big government checks are coming, but they won’t be so thrilled when a loaf of bread costs five dollars and a gallon of milk costs ten dollars.

As the virus spreads, many are concerned that it will sweep through low wage communities particularly hard, and that is a huge problem because low wage workers are absolutely vital all along the food chain…

By law, food manufacturers must prevent anyone who is sick or has a communicable disease from handling, processing or preparing food for human consumption. But much of the food supply chain is staffed by low-wage workers, many of them undocumented immigrants with limited ties to health services.

So what are we going to do if there are not enough healthy workers to get our food from the farms to our dinner tables?

Already, confirmed cases are starting to pop up at quite a few food production facilities…

The first case of a worker at a major U.S. meat producer testing positive for the virus was reported last week at poultry giant Sanderson Farms Inc. Since then, infections have cropped up everywhere from JBS SA plants in Iowa to Harmony Beef in Alberta.

While scattered factories have closed temporarily or cut output, generally companies are keeping plants running when workers get sick. Rather than shutting entire plants, they’ve focused on identifying areas where infected people have had direct contact.

Fear of the coronavirus is going to paralyze even “essential” industries such as food production.

We are now being told that authorities hope that cases peak in April and that this crisis will hopefully be behind us by June.  Let us pray that is true, but what most Americans don’t realize is that this pandemic is just the beginning.

Even before any of us ever heard of “COVID-19”, our world was already descending into madness, but now this pandemic has certainly accelerated things.

Millions of Americans have already lost their jobs, and the days ahead are going to be exceedingly challenging.

This is what an economic collapse looks like, and it is just getting started.

About the Author: I am a voice crying out for change in a society that generally seems content to stay asleep. My name is Michael Snyder and I am the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I have written four books that are available on Amazon.com including The Beginning Of The End, Get Prepared Now, and Living A Life That Really Matters. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing those books you help to support my work. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but due to government regulations I need those that republish my articles to include this “About the Author” section with each article. In order to comply with those government regulations, I need to tell you that the controversial opinions in this article are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the websites where my work is republished. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial or health decisions. Those responding to this article by making comments are solely responsible for their viewpoints, and those viewpoints do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of Michael Snyder or the operators of the websites where my work is republished. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and any way that you can share these articles with others is a great help.  During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all many people as we possibly can.

The post This Is What Economic Collapse Looks Like appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

It figures that the first thing to go in a SHTF situation is the toilet paper. With COVID-19 snaking its way across America—and news stations breathlessly reporting on empty shelves—TP is at the top of most shoppers’ lists. If you’re limiting your grocery runs to reduce the likelihood of exposure, you run the real risk of missing out on this basic staple. You can go to off-the-beaten-path stores, but they might not have it either. So what do you do if your monthly shopping expedition comes after the village hoarder has ransacked the hygiene aisle? For that, we turn to one of the bougiest of concepts: The bidet. Well, a DIY bidet.

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Event 201: The Pandemic Exercise That Tried to Warn Us About COVID-19

Creating a DIY Bidet

No, I’m not talking about that sink next to toilets in Europe, or one of those multi-button motion-sensor, heated-seat porcelain thrones that you see in luxury penthouses. (Although if you DO have one of those installed in your home already, excellent foresight.) No, what I’m talking about is the backcountry bidet—a simple solution to all your No. 2 needs.

The classic backcountry bidet is a type of squeeze bottle with a long, bent-neck nozzle (such as the BioBidet). However, if you don’t have one of these lying around, it’s easy enough to jerry rig a DIY version. These range from the VERY low-tech (a cup of warm water and your left hand) to more complex prototypes that require a trip to the hardware store (yeah …). But an easier version uses common household materials.

Make Your Bidet

Step 1) Find your bottle. A quick search of my fridge and backpacking pantry resulted in a variety of options. Select your bottle for “squeezability”—Gatorades are probably not the best choice here)—and size. You’ll just have to use your judgement when it comes to size. If you have smaller hands and are relatively, er, efficient, you’d want to select a smaller bottle than someone with quarterback-sized mitts. Some trial and error may be involved.

Step 2) Mark your bottle in a way that is impossible to miss. Duct tape, stickers, whatever you have at hand. The last thing you want is to mistake this bottle for a regular water bottle in the middle of the night.

Step 3) Grab a drill and drill bit; something in the 1/8 to 7/32 range works best. Test to see if your hole is already the correct size. If not, remove the cap, place it on a firm surface, and get drilling.

Step 4) Fill your bottle with water and screw the top back on.

Using Your Bidet

Step 1) After you’ve done the deed (taking your time—a pandemic is no time for a hernia), grab your bottle.

Step 2) Reach underneath and spray front to back (especially important for women and girls). Depending on the size of the bottle you selected, you may need to elevate your carriage some off the throne to get the right angle. Be mindful of the back of the toilet; this was designed for outdoor use, after all. Try to keep your hand out of the way of any splashback, but don’t worry too much about it. We’ve all had lots of practice with the proper technique for washing hands these days.

Step 3) Depending on how much you are trying to conserve toilet paper, you can either grab a square or two of TP to dry off, or let things air out au naturel.

Programming note: Do NOT get fancy and start thinking that you can conserve your home water supply by using urine in your DIY bidet. The uric acid will give you diaper rash.

Occasionally, a piece of gear comes along that I add to my “guilty pleasure” list. What do I mean by that? Well, the item at …

Read moreKa-Bar BK9 Survival Knife Review for 2020: Hands-On

The post Ka-Bar BK9 Survival Knife Review for 2020: Hands-On appeared first on Survival Cache.

Van life is a very popular trend among young individuals seeking freedom, a simple life, and exploration. Off-grid living is a popular trend in the same vein that it incorporates the goals of freedom and simple living. Is van life and off-grid living mutually exclusive? Can you live the van life as a prepper and enjoy the aspects of off-grid living? For some budget conscious individuals, they may just be looking to live this style of life while building or saving for a more permanent home. For preppers, as during the COVID-19 pandemic, motorhomes can also be for self-isolation.

Related: Selecting a Campground as a Bug Out Location

Most of us have romantic notions about off-grid living. Sure, growing food and sourcing water would be hard, laborious work. But it would be honest work. Even better, it would all be an exercise in independence. There would be no bureaucrats, no middle-men; no corporate influence — just you, your loved ones, and the raw materials of the Earth.

It is in this sense that we think of off-grid living as a life “how it should be.” A natural life. The good life. The romanticism goes on.

But in today’s increasingly interconnected and globalized world, how realistic is the off-grid lifestyle? Is it even legal in so-called liberal democracies? And if it could be achieved, would it ultimately be desirable, and worth the effort?

These are the questions this article is looking to explore.

Off-grid living seems idyllic, even the ‘right’ way to live. 

Freedom and Defining Off-Grid

In order to explore how possible off-grid living is, we first need to define what people mean when they talk about it. Some definitions are more strict than others. For example, some people take off-grid living to be:

• Living independently of the public power grid.
• Living free of all public utilities, including water.
• Completely avoiding all public infrastructure, such as roads.
• Being completely independent of all walks of life, including food-shopping and healthcare.

For most people, the romanticism associated with off-grid living can be
found at the most extreme end of this scale — but few would seriously want to
put their health at risk in the event of an emergency. 

Most people — and as we shall soon see — tend to think of the first step
as sufficient enough. After all “grid” is a synonym for electrical grid. This
is literally where the expression comes from. 

Living Off-Grid in a Van or Motorhome — Is it Possible?

To attempt the off-grid lifestyle in a motorhome is to automatically be dependent on the road network. This way of life is appealing to many, because it opens up whole new areas of the world to settle down in, relax and explore. It also makes you more answerable to governmental legislation, which more often than not interrupts any romantic notions of “freedom” and “independence.”

For example, in the UK, it is not possible to just find someplace out in
the countryside, settle down and start cultivating the land. Not without
permission. You can settle down somewhere for 28-days, but after that
the local authorities will demand you move on (unless you successfully apply
for planning permission). 

But here are some things you can do:

• You could look for a residential site or holiday site for motorhomes that is welcome all year round. Although some sites have legal requirements for you to leave the site for a period of 48-hours every three months or so. But that’s not really a problem, and could give you the chance to do some exploring.
• You could live off-grid on someone else’s land with their permission. This is known as ancillary accommodation. And “someone else’s land” can refer to anything, from pastures and meadowland, to a large garden and even somebody’s driveway.

And that’s about it! You could opt for a full nomadic lifestyle, with no fixed address — but you would soon run into problems, and this would make the off-grid lifestyle nearly impossible. As without ancillary accommodation, you would have to keep moving about.

Living ‘off-grid’ in a motorhome is appealing to many, for extra independence. 

Off-Grid Living or Full-Time Touring?

If we are willing to bend the rules of what constitutes off-grid living,
then full-time touring is an option. This is actually really popular, because
it provides motorhome-owners with all of the perks of travelling and
independence, and none of the downsides. 

For example, someone who is touring full-time could still visit the shops to get food. And (a neat trick that a friend told me) could join a 24-hour gym for the sole purpose of a hot shower. People living the van life often join a YMCA to enjoy the “use any YMCA gym” benefit that membership comes with. It would entirely be possible to be off-grid in terms of power usage, but on the darkest and coldest winter nights, hook-ups would still be an option at most sites.

Full-time tourists can even take advantage of motorhome sites with no
power grid. These sites are unpopular even on bank holidays and in the height
of summer, and will provide plenty of spaces to sit back, relax and enjoy what
life has to offer. 

Off-Grid Energy in a Motorhome

For the purposes of the rest of this article, we are going to assume you
want to be somewhat self-sufficient; as close to the romanticism of off-grid
living as possible. In that case, you will need to know what to do for
power. 

• Solar panels — The most important source of power will come from the sun. Technological improvements over the years have driven the cost of solar panels right down, and a good one will last over a decade if looked after properly. Mounted-roof panels are ideal because you can pivot them to follow the sun, and after nightfall, fold them away and store them inside to prevent theft.

  A 100-watt panel wired into two 110-amp leisure panels should serve your energy needs in a motorhome well, though you might have to sacrifice some — in my opinion easily doable — electronics. Such as: TV (watch on a laptop instead); toasters, coffee makers, French press, and so on (you can find more practical ways to make coffee and toast). A 200-watt panel is also suitable.

• Propane Gas — The second most important type of power source is gas. In the summer, gas works to keep our refrigerators cool. In the winter, we burn gas for warmth. Without mentioning specific brands, a refillable gas system should cater well for your gas needs — with a backup cylinder in reserve. Shop around and find the best cost-for-cost cylinders. Two cylinders should last about three weeks. You can even buy 100lb steel propane tanks for more semi-permanent residence!
• Generators — Generators are noisy and smelly, so they are best used as a backup, when the solar panel cannot generate enough power. If you are power-smart, a 500-watt one might be enough to manage on. Higher energy consumers might opt for a two-kilowatt generator. Invest in a good brand and you should get a decade of use out of it. Honda makes a super quiet 1000-watt generator with an inverter and a 3000-watt version. They’re more costly than others, but the benefits could outweigh the costs. You also have the added benefit of Honda quality.
• A car engine — If you don’t have a generator and just need a little backup in case everything goes out, then the engine of a car or other motorhome may be just the trick. All engines like these have alternators and can provide sufficient charge in half-an-hour or so. 

Somewhat surprisingly, power-sufficiency is probably the easiest part of
the off-grid lifestyle. Though be warned: it can get expensive. But if you can
afford it, it should well be within your grasp to manage. 

Food and Water Self-Sufficiency in a Motorhome — Can it be Done?

The answer to the water part of this question can be dealt with quite quickly: no. Even some of the most die-hard off-grid enthusiasts still have to resort to a public utilities source for their water. Most lakes and rivers are, unfortunately, polluted or riddled with vomit-inducing microorganisms. A travel Berkey gravity-fed water filter can help, or something like the Katadyn small group water filter, but those only go so far – and they assume a ready supply of water. 

You could consult a geographical map, find an area with a
naturally high water table, and try digging a well. But such an endeavor will
cost a lot of money, require apparatus to pump the water out, by no means be a
guaranteed success and (you guessed it) will rattle the attention of the local
authorities. 

Self-sufficient food and water is much harder to manage than electricity and gas. 

For food, the answer is: definitely sometimes. You can grow a surprisingly large amount of food in a relatively small place; raised-beds are a perfect example of this. You can then supplement whatever you grow with more edible fruits and plants grown in containers. Even a raised-bed around 24-inches wide should be sufficient for a couple of people (read Square Foot Gardening to see how). You can raid local supermarkets for food-waste and cardboard to re-purpose as compost, too. But that’s a lot of work!

Related – How to Build a Concrete Block Raised Bed Garden

The problem is, for such self-sufficiency to be possible, you will have
to ground your motorhome for months at a time. Growing food this way also
requires meticulous and strategic care — akin to becoming something like a
low-level biologist — and you will have to deal with pests, plant-disease, and
bad weather on top of all that. Self-sufficient food crops have also been
linked to bad breath and digestive problems.

At the very least, it would be possible to be somewhat self-sufficient
some of the time. This goes for people who live in a fixed abode as well, and
not just for motorhome enthusiasts. The general consensus from the people
who’ve tried it seems to be: it is far better to grow some food for the
sense of accomplishment, but not to depend on it. 

Thoughts and Conclusions

In short, the answer to the question: “Can you safely live off-grid in a
van or motorhome?” depends on your interpretation of what the word“off-grid”
actually means, and if one is allowed to bend that definition. As we have
explored, simply driving around and using the roads is by some interpretations
off-limits for anyone who truly desires to be independent from the
network. 

You can certainly live in a motorhome independent of a national power grid. With careful management of your solar panels and gas canisters — this is actually one of the least problematic areas of off-grid living. And it is certainly achievable and has some advantages.

But sourcing food and water is very difficult. At best, and at some expense and risk, and strategic thinking, you may be able to be food and water self-sufficient some of the time. It will be hard work, but it will be honest labor. And in the periods where one can live truly off the Earth, there are few greater senses of accomplishment.

—
This Author

Neil Wright is a copywriter and researcher. He has an interest in travel, science and the natural world, and has written extensively about off-grid living in the UK on his motorhome website. 

The post Can You Live Off-Grid in A Van or Motorhome? appeared first on SHTF blog – Modern Survival.

According to internal documents, Monsanto and Germany’s BASF knew their products would destroy farms in the United States. The firms disregarded the risks even while they planned on how to profit off farmers who would buy Monsanto’s new seeds just to avoid the damages caused by their products.

The documents (some of them date back more than a decade) have been uncovered during a recent successful $265 million lawsuit brought against both firms by a Missouri farmer. The internal documents were seen and released by the Guardian. They also revealed how Monsanto opposed some third-party product testing, in order to curtail the generation of data that might have worried regulators. In some of the internal BASF emails, employees were even joking about sharing “voodoo science“ and hoping to stay “out of jail.”

“The documents are the worst that I’ve ever seen for any case that I’ve worked on,” said lawyer Angie Splittgerber, a former tobacco industry defense attorney who works with farmers who are suing Monsanto and BASF. “So many of them put things in writing that were just horrifying.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Monsanto has been caught trying to hide the damages that are done with their products.

BUSTED! Monsanto Caught Writing Their Own Independent Safety Reviews

Monsanto Declares a Sneaky Social Media War Against Protesters

Records showed that at private meetings dating back to 2009, agricultural experts warned that the plan to develop a dicamba-tolerant system could have catastrophic consequences. Dicamba herbicide would normally kill crops such as soybean or cotton, but Monsanto altered the genes in these crops to create genetically modified varieties that are resistant to the herbicide. This meant that farmers can spray the weedkiller directly on those soybean or cotton plants to destroy weeds but leave the crops unharmed.

The experts told Monsanto that farmers were likely to spray old volatile versions of dicamba on the new dicamba-tolerant crops. They have warned that even new versions were still likely to be volatile enough to move away from the special cotton and soybean fields on to crops growing on other farms.

What is more important, under the system designed by Monsanto and BASF, only farmers buying Monsanto’s dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean seeds would be protected from dicamba drift damage. –RT

Monsanto Pays Out $10 Million For Spraying Toxic Chemicals on Hawaiian Crops

According to a report prepared for Monsanto back in 2009 as part of industry consultation, such an “off-target movement“ was expected. The company also expected things such as massive “crop loss”, “lawsuits” and “negative press around pesticides.” Monsanto’s own projections estimated that dicamba damage claims from farmers would total more than 10,000 cases, including 1,305 in 2016, 2,765 in 2017 and 3,259 in 2018.

Both Monsanto and BASF defended their products, claiming dicamba is safe “when used correctly,” and marketed it as an important tool for farmers. Industry estimates suggest that several million acres of crops have now been reported damaged by dicamba. More than 100 US farmers are engaged in litigation in federal court alleging Monsanto and BASF collaboration created a “defective” crop system that has damaged orchards, gardens and organic and non-organic farm fields in multiple states.

4 Reasons To Choose Heirloom Seeds For Your Garden

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

The US is only recently getting a taste of the ‘lockdown’ that’s been in effect for several countries in Europe, notably Italy and Spain.

I asked a couple of my contacts in Europe about what life under lockdown has been like. Esther lives in Barcelona, Spain, and is a project manager for a large company. Kyt lives in Milan, Italy. You might recognize her as the author of a recent series on tracking for preppers. She travels a lot as a tracking instructor.

I sent them both a series of questions about what it’s been like since their countries went into lockdown. Remember, neither country has a federalized government system like we do in America, so while their regions have some autonomy and self-governance, the shut-down orders came directly from their federal governments. — Pat

The Prepper Journal: When did the lockdown go into effect? 
Esther: March 13 at 10pm

Kyt: It was declared official on March 10th, after a week of uncertainty about the whole situation. The first zones to be declared “RED” were Lombardia and Veneto. Because they are regions within the country (somewhat like your states), You can imagine how the panic started crawling into people’ minds…we are talking about millions of people.

TPJ: What warning / how much warning did you have in your region for the lockdown?
Esther: Almost none.

Kyt: It was immediate, but there was some warning. The night before, hundreds of citizens tried to catch the night and overnight trains in order to reach their relatives, mostly located in South of Italy. Quite a massive exodus.

TPJ: Where were you when the government order came?
Esther: At my home in Barcelona.

Kyt: I was already locked in at home. I kind of barricaded myself in on March 3^rd. The terrible news started spreading fast around the last weekend of February. At that time, I was leading two tracking courses in Rome, so I got home as quickly as I could.

TPJ: Where are you now? How long have you been there? When can you go home?
Kyt: At home, reducing my “coming out” just to purchase food. As mentioned above, we’ve been under lockdown since March 3^rd! I haven’t seen my parents since that date.

TPJ: Did you have extra clothes or supplies? This would seem a perfect situation for having a ‘bugout bag’, but with extra clothes and day-to-day items like shampoo, etc.
Kyt: As I consider myself a prepper, I have always two bugout bags prepared, within easy reach, that contain all the necessary gear: rations, water purification systems, fire starting kit, medical kit, extra clothing, several good blades, sleeping bag and so on. I have plenty of food and potable water, as I have always kept my pantry fully assorted. If I had to, I would opt to reach a second house in the mountains, where I can get all I need for myself and my parents.

TPJ: Can you go out at all, or must you stay in the house/apartment all the time? How do you get food? 
Esther: 

• We only can go outside if we have to buy food, buy medicine, go to work or go for a walk with our dogs
• You have to go outside alone. Only can go accompanied if you are disabled
• If you must drive, you must go alone in your car
• If you don’t obey the law, you will have a fine, from 100€ to 1 year in prison. Most of the fines are 600€ (about $107 and $647, respectively- TPJ)

Kyt: I must stay at home, but I can get out ONLY in the areas near my residence. I purchase food in a small supermarket that is within walking distance. I consider myself extremely lucky for that.

TPJ: What’s the situation with COVID-19 in your region? 
Esther: The situation is not good at all. Less than 20% rooms available in the ER, and no masks or gloves are available for sanitary workers, so they are working with no protection.

Kyt: At the time I wrote this, the death toll has exceeded 5,000 in whole Italy. In my region, Lombardia, it has reached 3,456, while people who are now totally recovered are 5,865. The contagious line seems to show a decrease in the last few days.

TPJ: How are your family and friends dealing with this? 
Esther:  All of us are at home. Except for me and my cousin, no one is working. My cousin works in a hospital and I’m able to work from home during this.

Kyt: Scared, but trying to hold on. Italians do have a lot of hope, and we survived the plague back in 1600!

TPJ: What advice do you have to readers of The Prepper Journal if they find themselves in this situation? 
Esther: Try to not get nervous. Do some exercise and try to keep your mind busy.

Kyt: My sincere advice is to avoid any kind of contact and wash ALL the packages you get at the grocery stores, Walmart and so on. You never know who touched them before you. Eat a lot of honey and chili peppers in order to help strengthen your immune system. Obviously, never touch your nose, mouth and eyes. Try to vary your food and exercise at home! Since you will be precluded of getting out, your body needs to gain as much as strength as possible. Sweating is good!

The post Life Under Lockdown appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Written by Pat Henry on The Prepper Journal.

With much of the U.S. finding itself in increasing lockdowns due to the Coronavirus and COVID-19, and many countries in a complete lockdown, we thought this article from 2014 would be worth re-publishing.

We’re still seeing a lot of people who are ignoring basic self-distancing protocols and espousing a “government can’t tell me what to do.” I agree that government overreach has the real potential for getting bad, but voluntarily choosing to stay home or isolate is a much different scenario than the government imposing martial law.

The first is OK, the second abhorrent. With food availability possibly becoming an issue, what we don’t want is the government to be another obstacle in our wish to survive.

Be safe. Wash your hands. — Pat

The news has been almost completely focused on Ebola for the last couple of weeks and information outlets are pouring out details by the minute. This type of event is what the 24-Hour news cycle was created for and pundits on every side are breathlessly announcing news, interviewing witnesses and experts and showing hour after hour of footage of hospitals, people in yellow gowns, nitrile gloves and face-masks. It is enough to make a sane person crazy and it is a sober reminder to preppers everywhere that precautions for events like this are valid, prudent and perhaps in some of our cases, just in the nick of time.

Well, the Prepper Journal audience is full of sane people. I believe that most people who call themselves preppers are focused on taking simple logical steps to ensure the safety of their closest loved ones. It makes sense to pay attention to the news and shore up any supply needs that you might have. I believe it is very wise to keep an eye on the events in Dallas and elsewhere in the world in the event that this virus does grow outside of the limited scope that we have seen so far in the US at least.

When it is all said and done, this “outbreak” which isn’t really an outbreak at all here thankfully could end up disappearing from the news just as quickly as it came. Of course, it could also grow more serious. We aren’t clear exactly how Ebola is transmitted although very smart people are saying that it is hard to catch. So far, I am inclined to believe them only for the primary reason that we only have 3 cases at this time. Should that change I will be prepared to act and I am not going to relax simply because experts tell me not to be alarmed. I am not alarmed, but I am watching events closely as I am sure the rest of you are as well.

Self-Quarantine to reduce exposure risk

If Ebola does start to become a larger problem; if we begin to see a spike in cases, one possible option for limiting your exposure could be as simple as staying home.  Self-Quarantine is the practice of taking yourself out of the world so to speak to avoid contact with others completely. This is pretty much bugging in by definition. The NBC News crew that returned from reporting on Ebola had their cameraman test positive for Ebola so they agreed to Self Quarantine themselves to eliminate exposure to the public for the recommended incubation period of up to 21 days. In the case of Dr. Nancy Snyderman, this proved too long and soon they were caught out at a local restaurant which led to a huge public outcry and a weak apology from the doctor.

I won’t argue that staying in quarantine for up to 21 days would be very difficult, especially if you were alone, but if things do turn worse we might all be better off staying indoors. If Ebola cases increase substantially, we might not have a choice if Executive Order 13295 is put into action. 13295 allows for the “apprehension, detention, or conditional release of individuals to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of suspected communicable diseases.” Would you rather stay in your home and ride out the Ebola event or wherever the government wants to stick you? If you were faced with voluntary or involuntary quarantine to protect your family from Ebola, what would you need to consider?

Infrastructure for Self Quarantine

Not surprisingly, the CDC website has a lot of information about quarantine mostly from the viewpoint of the SARS epidemic back in 2003, but I believe the concepts and topics are still just as relevant if your goal is to reduce or eliminate possible exposure to infected individuals. Major infrastructure considerations for self-quarantine are:

• Communication Options – Telephone, cell phones, Ham Radio to keep in touch with others outside of your home. Shortwave radio is another good option assuming the regular lines of communication are down.
• Electricity – In a grid up scenario this should be fine, but if the grid goes down, do you have enough electricity for up to 21 days of isolation?
• Heat Source – Winter is approaching so a plan to keep warm is important. I have Kerosene Heaters and plenty of stored fuel but I would personally need to augment my supply for very cold conditions. Right now, cold isn’t a factor, but 21 days without power in January would be tougher.
• Potable Water – A core element of any prepper supply list is to have water on hand. Enough water for one gallon per person per day. If you have a family of 4 and are forced into quarantine from Ebola for 21 days that would be 84 gallons of water at a minimum.
• Waste and Sanitation – As long as the utilities are functioning this shouldn’t be a problem, but if the crisis explodes (no pun intended) you may not have city water to fill the toilets so alternate accommodations would need to be made. Grid down sanitation options are one possibility but would require you to go outside if the water and sewer lines were out of commission.
• Food – Do you have enough food to last for 21 days for your entire family? Again, with society still functioning I guess you could have neighbors bring food over but you wouldn’t want to be going to the grocery store.
• Entertainment – 21 days in your home is a long time. 21 days cooped up with your family is an eternity in the most easy going and loving homes. You should have a plan to counter boredom if you want to preserve your sanity along with your health.

Accommodations for Self Quarantine

If you are limiting your exposure as a family unit and by that I mean if everyone in your family is together in this then you can go on living (with certain exceptions) as you were although you wouldn’t be going outside. Would you stop your mail or risk exposure by touching something that another individual had contacted?

I am sure that it depends somewhat on the nature of any potential Ebola outbreak. It could be that the current convention that you must come in contact with bodily fluids from infected people in order to contract the disease holds. If that were the case, you could probably safely move about your yard, but quarantine does mean your trips to the malls, movie theaters, school events, plays, sporting events, hospital visits to sick friends would all be out of the question.

• Could you work from home? – In today’s environment there are many of us who could work from home full time. As long as I had internet, power and a cell phone I could work anywhere in the world. Online meetings will probably be more common if travel is restricted during any outbreak. Actually, that would be fine with me too as the last place I would want to be during any kind of disease outbreak is at an airport or any place away from home really.
• Could your children do schoolwork at home? – This would be tough for some but I imagine that a lot of schools would have to offer concessions in the case of quarantine. Certainly if the government locked everything down schools would either forgive homework or lean on online systems that are largely in place already. We still have one child that is home-schooled so she wouldn’t get out of anything, but another already gets her assignments online so staying out wouldn’t be a huge burden.
• How would you pay your bills? – As long as we have money in the accounts, almost all of our bills except my weekly tithe are done electronically. If that goes down we have bigger problems.

Provided you had running water, power and a job that would allow you to stay home you should only need food to survive outside of climatic extremes. Take all of that away though and your self-imposed quarantine could still save your life, but it would be much harder. Again this assumes that Ebola will always and only be passed from bodily fluids. In this case self-quarantine to reduce exposure should be doable for most people with even basic preparations. Let’s hope we don’t see anything worse.

The post What is Your Self-Quarantine Plan? appeared first on The Prepper Journal.