[David]

For those wanting to venture out in public, I might suggest dressing up as a Cowboy with a double-holster rig! Ruger Vaqueros make a wonderful fashion accessory in your choice of .45 Long Colt or .38 Special/.357 Magnum. Of course, you should ensure your local community allows open carry lest you become an outlaw! Come to think of it, you could dress in this same manner should you decide you're staying home. Would likely go a long way to keeping uninvited “tricksters” from coming through your front door! Hope everyone has a “monstrously” safe and enjoyable Halloween event regardless of their personal costuming choices!

[David]

Hey TJ – I think Jeff was actually slated to be out of town at a conference this week, but your post actually brings up a great point. Even if you're fortunate enough to be retired, how does your emergency response plan change when you're not together as a family unit when the ball drops? What if official mandates (I believe the Tampa airport is ceasing operations at 5:00p on Tuesday 9/27/2022 in preparation for Ian's projected arrival) preclude your ability to return to the immediate area of your family pre or post emergency? Anyone else have a similar experience or ideas on related topic they'd like to share? In any event, I'm sure Jeff will appreciate your kind expression of best wishes. Thought I'd chime in just in case he's understandably a bit slow responding to your post. I'm adding to prayers that everyone in the path of this storm proactively remains unharmed with minimal damage to things that can be replaced.

[David]

Unfortunately, lock picking videos and equipment abound via the internet. If someone wants badly enough to get into your house, they will. Hardening the measures you already have to the best of your ability, probing for potential weaknesses and using multiple/overlapping security tools and tactics is about the best you can do. Most of us can't afford the repair costs of actually testing our physical security devices against brute force/destructive level attacks. With higher quality deadbolt locks installed, TJ makes an excellent point about having a spare key somewhere outside your home that's much tougher to hack than “under the doormat”. I personally leave a key with a highly trusted neighbor so that they can gain emergency access if needed. Either of these solutions will save you the expense of a qualified locksmith service visit to regain entry to your own home.

[David]

If you believe the societal fabric of the United States has never been stronger, that the economy is in great shape, and that the world is a friendly and all-inclusive place, then you should continue on your life journey, investing neither your time nor your resources in Warrior Life.

If you believe that we live in increasingly dangerous times, and that you must establish and maintain the strength, skills, and strategies to be able to take fast, decisive actions when being mentally and physically prepared truly matters, then being an all-access member of Warrior Life represents a “game-changing” value for you. You don't have to be anywhere near a Navy SEAL or Spec Ops Operator to fit an inclusive list Warrior Life definition of an action-taking “Warrior”.

There’s simply nowhere else that you can go to instantly be able to put your finger on tested and proven content that meets basic survival needs that are completely unique to you. Jeff Anderson has spent 35 years plus of his lifetime building proven content and contacts that can very literally save your life. It’s all backed with a no B.S. – iron clad assurance that you can get all your money back if your 30-day inspection results don’t exceed your expectations.

Hope is not a strategy. By itself, it will leave you begging in the streets (or worse), and there’s nobody in the Government or private sector ready, willing, or able to come save you tomorrow because you didn’t do something you coulda’- shoulda’ – woulda’ gotten done today.

By the way, no single individual or family has everything possibly needed to have any reasonable assurance of long-term survival in times of real-world stress/chaos. The only answer is being part of a functional community where everyone has something to contribute. Join this one today and continue building towards your personalized/ultimate objectives and goals. Start building your own relationships with folks of similar mind-set and motivation to succeed – who knows the ultimate benefits you stand to personally gain? Only you know just how much you have to lose!

DavidW – Tennessee

[David]

First, I'd reach out for immediate help from bystanders along with a 911 call. I have “blow out” medical IFAC kits in my vehicle with ingrained hemostatic agent (gauze and sponge type), additional Z-fold compression gauze for wound packing, pressure bandages ( 1 on person – 1 in kit) Israeli and Oleas – only 1 in kit – types), along with 2 ea. windlass style tourniquets (TQs) – (1 on my person and 1 in kit), along with a SWAT-T (elastic stretch, wrap, tuck bandage) in kit. I include combat casualty blanket (bit heavier than a standard Mylar space blanket) for hypothermia control. Direct pressure, wound elevation (if possible) and treatment for shock/hypothermia until professional responders arrive would be the order of the day. Personally, I was really disappointed learning that in late 2021, Recon Medical lost their court case (and were driven out of business?) supposedly after admitting that they had no quality control over their tourniquets being made in China. Do not trust Amazon sources for tourniquets – there are too many knock offs floating around – many falsely advertising NAR origin. Go direct to North American Rescue (NAR) to confirm your source, (last I called the company, they told me not to trust anyone not directly at NAR because they'd experienced even “recognized” distributors unwittingly releasing fakes). Remember to never mix your training TQs with your carry TQs and that all the TQs have a recommended shelf (duty) life. I also include an LED head lamp in each blow out kit along with 2 sets of light-colored Nitrile gloves so that any blood from concealed entry/exit wounds would be visible after doing a head to toe damage assessment. Final item is a good set of trauma shears to cut clothing out of the way. Remember the Mnemonic M.A.R.C.H. (Massive Hemorrhage, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, Hypothermia) in treatment priority – having Tactical Combat Casualty Care skills as your own first-responder can save precious minutes and lives (your own as in this hypothetical). Revisiting this topic is forcing me to replace my Recon Medical TQs with NAR originals, but it reinforces the point that you've got to constantly monitor and upgrade both your knowledge and your equipment to be as prepared as you possibly can be at all times.

• This reply was modified 8 months, 1 week ago by  David.

[David]

Your question takes my mind back to EJ Snyder and the Ka-Bar Black Tanto knife failure that he experienced on “Naked and Afraid” in Tanzania. My point is that I see two completely different approaches to knives. I wouldn't advocate taking expensive knives and beating them with a rock – I put them in the group called “Collectibles” – reserved for emergency use only. The second group contains what I'd call “Working”. Those are the knives I carry and use. Personally, I can't afford the higher-end name brands. Randall knives look very nice, but I'm not willing to abuse a $500 knife to make sure they work as advertised. I'm left with brands like Cold Steel or Tops where I buy two, and use/beat the crap out of the first one. If the first one holds up to my own torture testing, the second one becomes “Collectible”. If the first one fails in use, the second one becomes “Yard sale”.

Enjoy your Randall knives – they are inarguably very nice knives. I'd vote to keep them under glass with the label “Break in case of emergency”.

Great topic for discussion and different ideas – thanks for adding it.

[David]

I boxed as an amateur, and wrestled in college, but never got into competitive martial arts. Now that I'm older and less capable physically, I've really come to more fully appreciate Tim Larkin's Target Focus Training as a great source of practical self-defense guidance that starts from the vantage point of “avoid avoidable conflicts”! While I fully support other tools in a personal self-defense arsenal that allow you to project force at distance, the ugly truth is many unavoidable conflicts are going to start with what you already have in your hands at the onset of an attack against you. As Tim frequently reminds people, whomever gets the first injury in on an opponent is most often going to be the one with the greatest likelihood of surviving the initial attack/encounter.

[David]

I actually prefer using larger diameter rounded neodymium (rare earth) magnets (avoids getting caught via inadvertent edge snagging) backed by nano-technology double-sided tape (marketed as “alien tape”). This option can be custom sized (up or down) to suit the particular knife you want to secure, winds up being a whole lot less expensive than most of the special purpose gun mounts I've tried, and the cushioning effect of the thicker mounting tape helps keep from causing the magnet to shatter if a metallic blade (or other object) is aggressively seated. I also prefer mounting on objects that do not conduct magnetic force (such as wood), so that I don't accidentally “wipe” any hard drives/memory devices that may come into near proximity of mounting magnets. My latest “fail” on a magnetic gun mount was one that was designed to allow you to rack the pistol slide while in the magnetic holder. Turns out it wouldn't fit because combination day glo/tritium night sight tube body was too long to fit the housing notch cut out from the main mount body. Unfortunately the device design also renders it of very limited benefit even when used with a knife because the magnetic portion is in a central channel that is well below a surrounding and non-metallic body.

While not directly magnetic, I'm a tactical fan of staging non-metallic knives such a the Cold Steel brand zytel or grivory synthetic material compositions in potentially wet environments – especially in bathrooms. If not already equipped with a metal keyring (like the cruciform dagger design) that will hang from a magnet, you could always drill a shallow hole in the weapon, glue in its' own circular rare earth magnet and have a strong double attraction factor working for you (just mind the pole orientation so the magnets don't wind up repelling each other). Such synthetic blades obviously are not designed to be re-sharpened, but for single-use defensive deployments – they are capable of producing formidable penetrating injuries in attackers.

I think you're absolutely spot-on when making the point that the majority of such arrangements are not suitable if minors will be inside your home. In addition to the safety concerns posed by younger children, you could face potential legal jeopardy if teen-aged visitors could gain unrestricted access to any style weaponry in your home. I am reminded that laws in many states treat knives and clubs as being even more “heinous” than firearms.

Anyone have experience using ceramic bladed knives for defensive purposes? Beyond those styles/applications mentioned by Ed Calderon, most of the ceramic blades I've seen appear to me to be too thin and brittle to make them good candidates for defensive work; however, I always remain happy to be educated on any new developments!

Stay “sharp” and frosty my fellow members!

[David]

Last time I was in Portugal was many years ago. At that time, airport police openly carried submachine guns. I got into trouble trying to exit the country because I had flown into the country on an airline jump seat (air crew – non-revenue flight), and their customs officers failed to properly document my passport entry record. It was not fun. Foreign police – especially in airports are nothing to make light of. Back then, we'd leave our passports in hotel desk safe to avoid losing it to extremely talented local pickpockets. Best defensive weapon available (other than good empty hand defense skills) is likely a good, heavyweight flashlight – doesn't arouse undue levels of attention and makes an excellent improvised impact weapon. High intensity LED lights available these days also allows you to illuminate darkened areas before you enter them. Just like being in the U.S. – your best defense is complete avoidance of any trouble in the first place!

[David]

The fact that a couple of years have passed since first incident makes it seem unlikely that mischievous youngsters are at work. It also would tend to rule out “being probed” by a criminal element to help determine your response pattern. Are there any mentally challenged neighbors of whom you're aware? Just as a precaution, I'd file a report with local law enforcement, so that in the event that a personal confrontation resulted from any future “gifting”, there would at least be a formal record of a technical trespass. Multiple surveillance cameras are a wonderful thing – perhaps a local surveillance equipment/security provider is dropping items trying to drum up some business from you – junk might be cheaper and arguably more effective than business cards! Nothing quite as worrisome as the unexplained. I'd get the cameras rolling!

[David]

Saw some ideas on producing a trench club and/or flail using 6-way Black Iron cross piece with some standard plumbing fittings (looked pretty medieval to me). Biggest problem I see there is that without lots of practice and proper technique, swinging impact weapons have a way of coming back to bite you. I had a friend register a KO (on himself) with nunchaku when going “Bruce Lee” on a heavy bag. Personally, I'd prefer to project force at a distance (in medieval terms) using time-tested and battle proven bow and arrow. Guess you could also opt for a Cold-Steel reproduction of a Hand-and-a-half sword. In the final analysis, I suppose most “medieval” weapons went out of favor because more effective and efficient tools became available.

[David]

O.K. Fellow Warriors – here's a very recently made insider's view of the countdown clock to the next big potential Carrington-like Event. This is science, not science fiction. It has happened, and it will happen again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85-p9EIEVUA

[David]

Not that I don't like beans, but question was posed with one-pound net-weight limit (I figured somebody out there had calibrated a Peak Refuel freeze dried smorgasbord to get exactly that limit worked out, and I wanted their recipe worksheet)! I got out of the box and hit on my own answer being a one-pound jar of honey! (Could alternatively be packaged in plastic drinking straws – heat sealed ends using a household iron). No refrigeration or cooking required. High energy output for minimal intake. Non-thirst inducing. Multi-purpose as it could be used to treat cuts and help prevent infections. Soothes coughs and colds. Could be used to bait insects for increased food production capabilities. No practical limits on shelf-life.

Whether you agree with all the elements I've mentioned, I believe the addition of honey to your 72-hour food supplies merits strong consideration.

[David]

When I was working, I was (at least) 35 miles away from home every day (not to mention being on the other side of the world – but that's a different story). Told my family to expect me no sooner than 3 days after any serious event, and if home conditions warranted – for them to move out without me to our pre-determined secondary location. I don’t envy folks still having to make long commutes away from family, even if it’s by ground transportation. In my opinion, the EMP Shield device for vehicles is a major game changer in related emergency planning scenarios. I know you’re continuing to apply brain leverage to any problems you might face. Nice to hear that you’re on the mend physically. Continued best wishes in all aspects of your life my friend!

[David]

Good post TJ. I never mastered the lock picking skill set. I've got some tools, but I don't think they're very high quality. If you should happen to come across a good source at a reasonable expense, be sure and let us know. Thanks for your input – be safe and well!

[Author]

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