Which common caliber round has the best stopping power?

The video below uses the data from Greg Ellifritz's 10-year stopping power study of real-world gunfights to shed the light of actual data on several common beliefs about handgun calibers including 22 rifles are the best bug out guns, 45s have the best stopping power, 380s are too small to be effective, 410 guns are gimmicks, and more. Here is the link to the original data and study by Ellifritz: http://www.activeresponsetraining.net...

Video Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nycYxb-zNwc

Bad feeling about the near future

Over at http://atthelakeinthewoods14.blogspot.com/2018/08/deep-in-thought.html Rob asked if anyone else has a bad feeling that the SHTF is on its way?

I think so!

The end of the USA as we know it is close at hand and will be destroyed by the Left. It will be destroyed by an Economic Collapse. The Democrat Party has clearly announced to the world they are now the “Democrat Socialist Party of America” and they ultimately want a Dictatorship running the country.

They are promising to give everything to the stupid teenagers who can vote and Millennial’s who are spoiled brats and those who have a job make far to much money. Free single-payer healthcare is Dirty Bernie’s, latest stupidity to the tune of $31 trillion over 10 years.

Our elected politicians are corrupt to the core and have no experience in building a country and through their greed is destroying it.

We have an ex-president for the first time in history, set up a group called “Organizing for Action” (OFA). OFA is 30,000+ strong and working to disrupt everything that our current President’s administration is trying to do”.

The race card is played continuously inciting the stupid, sub-human people, into shootings and riots (I mean protests, Ha). Wait for them to start burning down the cities they live in.

I am retired and scared to death that the collapse is on its’ way and I’m not sure how to hide my meager retirement savings from our government's corrupt hands just so they can give it to the crybabies who have never earn anything.

I believe we are being lied to about the size of our oil reserves. If not why are we still buying foreign oil?? Without oil, we go back to caveman days in no time.

I don’t know if you noticed, but the cost of living is rising so fast most people don’t see it. Down here we have GM Trucks being advertised up to 24% off sticker! Detroit would never do that unless they can’t move their inventory and are desperate for sales.

Our distribution infrastructure is so fragile that any hick-up in the JIT (just in time) supply chain will delay food, fuel, and other necessities maybe for weeks.

I think about the tariffs and the retaliation of the other country suppliers not shipping component parts in a timely manner as punishment, thereby shutting down carmakers and all businesses who are having their components made Off-shore or Mexico or Canada.

All this is the fault of our inexperienced politicians making bad deals years ago. Now we’re paying the price for them.

We are the next Venezuela, study it, learn how to live under a dictatorship.

Stock up on the basic long-term foods and all survival supplies, lots of them. Again look at Venezuela and their citizens starving. They are begging for rice, beans, and flour, The Prepper Staples. Maybe even think about leaving the country for a safe place to live.

It’s going to get ugly with the sub-humans beating their drums and targeting White people with violence, burning down subdivisions and businesses. No Fireman or Policemen are going to risk being shot trying to put them out.

Prepare while there is time!

The Preppers Livestock Handbook

I just finished reading Leigh Tate's “The Preppers Livestock Handbook”

There’s an amazing the amount of science and knowledge packed inside including a list of sources. If you have or are planning on living the Homestead Life with livestock, Leigh's hands-on experience and knowledge are priceless. This book is a FIVE-STAR reference book and a must-have book for your Prepper Library. Also, see her blog http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Livestock care from a preparedness point of view.

You will learn:

Which livestock is best suited to preparedness, options for shelter and fencing, how to establish and maintain good pasture, how to grow and store hay, strategies for feeding your farm animals without going to the feed store, options for breeding, birthing, veterinary care, and sustainable dairying. Also, the pitfalls to avoid and how to keep things manageable. If the grid ever fails, you will know how to preserve and store eggs, dairy foods, and meat without electricity. The Preppers Livestock Handbook focuses on simple, low-tech, off-grid methods for managing your land and your livestock. 

Covers:

Cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, and poultry chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and guinea fowl.

https://www.amazon.com/Preppers-Livestock-Handbook-Lifesaving-Sustainable/dp/1612437958/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1525991530&sr=8-2&keywords=preppers+livestock&linkCode=sl1&tag=kikobook-20&linkId=5f81b9d12d1573b08178ea3199ea7ab2

Handgun Self-Defense Ammunition Ballistics Test

By: Lucky Gunner Labs

Pistol Caliber testing of the four most popular pistol calibers:

I think most will find this ballistics test made by The Lucky Gunner Lab, very interesting and loaded with facts. The link to the full test is at the end, very worthwhile to read.

Also check out their store for ammo, pretty good pricing www.luckygunner.com

Following was written by Lucky Gunner.

The Four Calibers Tested:

• .380 Auto (ACP) Ballistic Test Results
• 9mm Luger (9x19) Ballistic Test Results
• .40 S&W (Smith & Wesson) Ballistic Test Results
• .45 ACP (Auto) Ballistic Test Results

Project Summary:

“Over the last few months, I’ve been working with the rest of the Lucky Gunner team on another one of our epic experiments, which we’re proud to finally unveil: ballistics gelatin testing for over 100 self-defense handgun ammunition loads. 117 to be precise, and that’s just round one. This testing will be ongoing, and we’ll keep adding to the results as we have the chance to test more loads. Watch the video below for a brief overview of the project and an explanation of how to read the results.”

Ballistics Testing in Plain English:

“The science of wound ballistics can be a daunting topic, especially if you’re not inclined to use your leisure time to study physics and anatomy. At the end of the day, it’s really just the study of how and why bullets inflict damage. That sounds fairly straightforward, but even experts who study this for a living can’t seem to all agree when it comes to the effectiveness of handgun ammo.

The reason for this lack of consensus is simple: handguns suck. If someone wants to kill you, and the only way to prevent that from happening is to shoot them, a handgun is far from the ideal firearm to use — they just happen to be the type of firearm we’re most likely to have immediate access to. Contrary to what Hollywood has ingrained into our consciousness, shooting bad guys with pistols doesn’t make them fly backwards through the air, crashing into a bloody, motionless heap. In reality, the effects of wounds from handguns are unpredictable and often not very dramatic. So the study of handgun wound ballistics is not always clear cut, and any speculation we can make about how a given self-defense load will perform in the real world will be, at best, an educated guess.”

Link to complete lab article:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/

Burger Pattie Forming Press

I purchased this hamburger press last week and tested it today.

I have been on the Atkins Diet, or what I like to call it, the Atkins Eating Plan and not a diet, that’s based on meat and veggies. It is very easy to follow with a wide latitude of what you can eat and what you shouldn’t, and one of the should not’s is most everything made with flour. The one common thing about any eating plan is ‘portion control’. When it comes to eating protein (meats and fish), Atkins recommends 3 ounces per dinner meal. 3 ounces is a little less than a quarter pounder burger patty. That’s pretty minimal for me, so I eat portion sizes between 4 or 5 ounces per dinner meal and feel very satisfied plus there are ‘0’ carbs in meat and fish so the extra amount does not impact my weight loss, about 10 pounds per month.

As I wrote, portion control is important, especially for the ‘Prepper’ so I weigh the food before I eat it. I like to have the food pre-portioned whenever practical such as hamburger patties and is the reason I purchased this burger patty press.

The press has a fully adjustable patty thickness so I can control the thickness of the patty being formed controlled by the weight of the meat to be shaped. As in my case, 5oz each, are made quickly and repeatable. The diameter is fixed at 4½ inches. I buy meat such as a pork ‘Boston Butt’ the cheapest meat you can buy and when on sale it’s about $1.80 a pound today but not long ago it was $1.20 a pound. I buy up to 20 pounds at a time. 20 pounds of 5-ounce patties is about 60 burgers. That’s a job to hand form 60 patties at one time, and that is the reason for purchasing this press.

Since I grind the meat at home I can season it the way I like when grinding and I also grind the pork for sausage patties for use on pizza’s, just crumble up a patty or 2 and top the pizza with it, or for breakfast sausage. No I don’t eat pizza while on Atkins. L

Summary:

If you are a Prepper and hunt and grind much of the animal or you butcher your own livestock and grind it this is a valuable tool to eliminate waste (portion control) and will speed the process.

Overall it’s a good, strong product, very easy to use and I expect it to last longer than myself!

Manufacturers Statements:

• There’s a reason (well, many reasons, really) people rave about this Burger Press: A solid metal construction, non-stick coating, adjustable patty weight and thickness, and an exclusive spring plunger button that makes patty removal super simple!
  
  

Features:

• Spring plunger button compacts the patty then pops back for quick patty removal
• Non-stick
• Constructed of heavy duty aluminum
• Wipes clean
• Adjustable patty thickness from ¼” to 1 ½” with a 4 ½” diameter
• Helps ensure that patties will not fall apart on the grill
• Not just for hamburgers – make sausage patties, turkey burgers, and crab cakes too

How to use video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xzsjdm-TGE

Link to purchase $18 - $29

https://www.amazon.com/Weston-Burger-Hamburger-07-0301-Patties/dp/B0002HBIAW

My trusty money saving scale.

The test hamburger.

I tear off chunks of the ground meat and add to the scale until I have 5 oz measured.

The 5 oz portioned meat is quickly shaped into a rough ball.

A piece of parchment paper is first put into the machine with a ball of meat.

Another piece of parchment paper placed on top.

Close the press all the way and open again.

Out comes the patty. Using parchment paper saves a mess.

Perfect and portion controlled patty.

Ready to be vacuum bagged and put in the freezer.