We all know about Murphy’s Law. Personally, I think Murphy was a bit of a pessimist… but there’s still a lot to be said for thinking about ALL possible outcomes, and making a decision based on the best and worst possible outcomes.
Well, one of the worst things that can happen with our guns during a fight, is that we experience a jam or a dud round. We can prepare for this by using ’snap-caps’: dummy rounds that we can put into our guns and magazines during practice, to simulate a dud.
The idea is that if you train your mind to rack your slide in the event of a ‘fail to fire’, you will do it out of habit if it happens while your mind is turned off during a gun fight.
It’s ALWAYS good to have a back-up plan, no matter what you’re doing.
If you are thinking ahead, you have planned for a few days of self reliance in the event that something happens to disrupt the normal flow of society. I need to stress that preparing this way is just like carrying concealed- this is not paranoid, it’s common sense.
One area that we often over-look is fueling our vehicles.
Time and time again, we have seen that you CANNOT rely on gas stations to give you fuel during a crisis. At best, you’ll be waiting in line for hours for a few gallons of rationed gasoline.
Those of us who drive trucks or SUVs can expect some anger from those in line around you with small cars, who will look at you as if you are “wasting gas”.
At worst, the gas stations will be empty. It happens all the time- stations are supplied regularly, and they depend on being able to predict fuel usage.
If your entire area has to be evacuated because a chemical train derails (for example), this will be something that nobody has planned for, and since fuel trucks don’t drive into disaster zones, you and your family will have only the gas that’s in your tank.
So, what can you do? Remember- the goal here isn’t to completely rearrange your life, and spend a ton of money preparing for something that will probably never happen.
The goal is to take reasonable, common sense measures that will make it easier on everybody involved- especially you.
So, here is what you do:
1) Obviously, try to never let your car’s tank drop below 3/8s of a tank. In most vehicles, you’ll have at least 100 miles of fuel in your tank at 3/8s. If you don’t drive much, try to keep it above half tank.
2) Budget for, and buy a few metal 5 gallon safety gas cans. These are not cheap ($25-$35 each), but try to buy one per month for the next few months.
Then, get a product called “Sta-Bil”. It’s just a few dollars at any auto store or Wal-Mart. It’s usually in a clear container, and the fluid is reddish-pink.
As you get your metal cans, fill them up with 5 gallons of Premium Gasoline.
(The metal will keep the gas fresh longer than plastic, and Premium will remain usable for much longer than regular!)
When you get home, add 4 ounces of ‘Sta-Bil’ to the 5 gallons of gas, put the cap on, and slosh the gas around to mix the Sta-Bil.
(Sta-Bil is a gasoline stabilizer, and makes gas last for a LONG time.)
Then, take the full can and put it the coolest, driest, darkest, and most temperature-consistent place you can think of. (The more the temperature fluctuates, the faster the gas will degrade.)
If you can keep the gas in a good environment, the gas in this can will help carry you, your vehicle, and your loved ones to safety for YEARS.
The Sta-Bil bottle says two years, but I know for a fact it lasts longer than that. I’ve heard some people talking about 10+ years, but for safe keeping, I would recommend that every couple years, you just put the gas in your car, and refill the cans and repeat storage.
Do this, and there’ll be one less sheep in line for gas- for hours, when minutes count. And, you’ll be ahead of traffic and to safety by the time the pumps dry up.
Now- getting to safety is important, but without the right supplies, tools, and knowledge, it won’t really matter.
I strongly suggest that you take a look at the Ultimate Stayin’ Alive & Buggin’ Out Crash Course, available for next to nothing compared to the life-saving value you’re going to get out of this:
=> http://UltimateBugOutBag.com/
Hear what a USCCA member said about it this morning:
I don’t participate in an attitude of fear that the typical news media tends to foster. I do however, have handgun permit and take prudent precautions to deal with unforeseen situations. I believe this package is a good source of information to prepare oneself and family against those situations.
-NavyCalibrator
Get it, and stay one step ahead of the game forever.
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8:08 am
As of Jan 1 2009, the tree-hugging commie pinko animist leftist luddite EPA have banned the sale of normal jerry cans and made CARB-compliant (junk) cans the law of the land ‘for the children’. (The law of the land is for ALL of the US, not just in the Peoples Republic of Kalifornia) If you can get the clamp-type cans, get them immediately. It will probably be your last chance. Most of the places that sold old-style jerry cans are out of stock and state that they are gone forever. The stated reason for the no-longer-available normal jerry cans is the ban.
11:39 am
as to the original part of the post (re. misfires) I once bought a case of .45acp from american ammo. I consistently get at least 2 malfs per 50 round box. I was considering getting rid of the ammo, but it turned out to be a great training aid because the malfs occur completely at random, and because I’m not using snap caps, they are totally unexpected.