UPDATE Jan 2020 I’ve made a few changes and I wanted to document those tips.

SUMMARY UPDATE:

• Refresh and review of 72 hour kit/get-home kit (with many items for a motorcycle kit > https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NhaaeqzeqwY8vCSVhNCcTYv3eg7y-6Xu9oDNPI-y0jI/edit?usp=sharing
• 3 liter bladder that can be cleaned out because the top comes off Source Tactical WXP 3-Liter Hydration Reservoir Leakproof Antimicrobial System with Storm Valve
• sawyer mini water filter can be put inline with hydration pack hose!
• better quality hydration pack. Hard use and it is still together and I love the pocket layouts. CamelBak H.A.W.G. LR 20 Hydration Pack
• Uses small eye dropper 15 ml bottles to hold fluids like:
  rubbing alchol, wd40, clp, dish soap (wheel changes in the field) and or biodegradable soap, olive oil (blessings & cooking), bug spray fluid, dr christoper tissue & bone oil, rem oil, aloe vera, gear oil, Paraphen oil for chains
• Upgraded tow strap from green chili gear is awesome. I’ve used it a couple of times and the length with elastic is so perfect, worth every penny! https://greenchileadv.com/collections/z-drag-and-recovery/products/dynatow-dynamic-towstrap
• small zip lock bags of over the counter meds
• review and reducing of tools/gear to essentials
• bottle holsters can haul 1 liter gas can, a tube or tools. https://greenchileadv.com/products/gcag-bottle-holster
• amazing ditty bags/possibles bag for organizing tools without the bulk of a tool roll (I can get twice the tools in half the space and then when I get there, I can put the tools and parts onto a bandana! Check out these quality ditty bags! https://www.etsy.com/shop/FoxLiteGear
  • manual air pump in pack
  • spare tube in bottle holster
  • manual fuel pump….I sometimes need a KLR fuel tanker to refuel me
• Leatherman wave with bit extender and foxy pouch special mod for me!
• GPS satellite messanger and emergency locator on camelbak. I just use an old military pouch and geartie it onto the straps, but check out these shoulder pockets! keeps the mud off your inreach and close at hand https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/shoulder-strap-pouches/
• Storing quality/light weight channel locks with crescent wrench in tank bag (quick save when chain fell off riding buddy’s bike!)
  Knipex 87 01 180 7-1/4-Inch Cobra Pliers
• SO many uses for a bandana. Wrap tools/gear, stop bleeding, signaling, block the sun, towel etc. You can even get them with “how-to” like knott tying or prepper principles.

Here are some photos of the updated gear!

Update. I even went smaller (from 15ML to 5ML bottles)>

Nov 2018

Recently, I put together a Motorcycle Preparedness Kit as a result of almost not making it out of the wilderness (in the dark and snowy remote mountains of Utah).

The focus of this kit is a day pack. So very light and nibble. The wr450f doesn’t have a lot of storage options. The KLR650 has plenty of storage.

DEVINE INTERVENTION TRAIL:

1. used all water including for coolant on my bike (coolant leaked out!).
2. pull strap – yep we used it a lot to get over snowy rock ledges and deep mud
3. 5 hour energy

THINGS I WISHED I’d HAD:

1. LED bright headlight
2. clear goggles (I could ether be pelted in the eye with snow or see NOT see through my tinted googles.
3. cold weather neck and head guard.  As soon as we took our helmets off, we shivered uncontrollably.

I put a tusk rear fender bag on my wr450f. I put the heaviest tools in there.

Also, on that trip my backpack straps ripped out and so I had an excuse to get another MC bag.

Pill bottle has matches (lighter is in the pack too), AA battery, and a small tube of gasket maker.  Did you spot the under water epoxy?

MC pack with toolkit, jerky, granola bars, clear googles, spare batteries (see photo of all the gear)

CHECKLIST ITEMS:

MY DO ALL CHECKLIST SHEET

Winch Rope
(handy for a pull-strap and just about anything). Almost 4,000lbs rope and its about 1/4″ thick.

emma kites 200~5500lb 100% UHMWPE Braided Polyethylene Cord Spool – Heavy Duty Low Stretch – Outdoor Utility Cord Kitesurfing String Boating Fishing Speargun Shooting Line Hammock

Water purification tablets: https://amzn.to/2yQQUxX

Water filter: https://amzn.to/2QjgL8o

Water bottle & nested cup: https://amzn.to/2QjgGl6

LED bulb converter (now in my klr650 and wr450f worth EVERY penny, so bright!): https://amzn.to/2qt78bK

Hydration pack: https://amzn.to/2SQODv4

Patch Kit: https://amzn.to/2qw78aV

Chain Braker: https://amzn.to/2OpQoeZ

1/4 Socket extender and driver: https://amzn.to/2JENTVo
This is KEY to my tool system, because it can be a driver for any of my screwdriver set as well as many sockets.

Under water epoxy! https://amzn.to/2quSP6M

SOG multi-tool (my fav!) https://amzn.to/2QkmJWD

Reusable zip ties!: https://amzn.to/2SM5xL5

MTKNIVES neck knife!: https://amzn.to/2JCf2bD

Husky Utility Knife (get the small one, which is harder and harder to find!)

wet wipes! https://amzn.to/2QjPmmy

space blankets: https://amzn.to/2JGdFc2

small fix a flat: https://amzn.to/2JEscEV

pliers – big enough to get axle nut off: https://amzn.to/2yQPi74
8″ in MC kit, 10″ in UTV kit

Pry bar: https://amzn.to/2quaBak

Allen Key bit set: https://amzn.to/2JDhrTz
https://amzn.to/2Do6kO5

ROK straps (AWESOME TIE-DOWN STRAPS): https://amzn.to/2RzI6Dl

wire (bailing or rebar).

AA headlamp: https://amzn.to/2JEB4KS

Lighters

chapstick

boo-boo kit: bandaids, tripple antibiotic, alcohol wipes,

small battle dressing: https://amzn.to/2SGVrLw

freeze-out neck gaurd – can cover whole head or just neck/chin:

https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/freeze-out-warmr-balaclava

External battery (charge phone/gps):
https://amzn.to/2yN6gU7

FAV GPS: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/
Pre-download, 100s of overlays including topo, satellite, Nat geo, hunting, trails, forest service, etc etc! share your tracks via link after your adventure!

UPDATE: XDM 10mm Holster build photos & order form.

Released Oct 10, 2018. I purchased this online 10/10/2018…can you tell, I LOVE the 10mm!

Received Oct 17, 2018. Its SN is between 500-600, so not surprisingly, I got a pretty low SN.

15+1 fully loaded with gun is 2 lbs & 9 oz (41 oz).

my xd/xdm 9mm 5″ holster fits the xdm 10mm holster!

AND the blackhawk 9/40 mag-pouch fits the 10mm magazine! (this was NOT true of the g20).

UPDATE: the xdm .45 acp spectre holster fits my 10mm! I did heatgun the spare-mag pouch and put two indents to significantly increase retention for the spare mag (ITS PERFECTION for under-arm holster system!)

I bought from:

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/211651

For $550 and with rebate will get 3 extra mags. So 5 mags & xdm 10mm for $550.

My buddy Craig should have these in stock soon:

https://www.lakemountainguns.com/

It didn’t take long to decide between 4.5” and 5.25” barrel length. I got the 4.5” for portability and I don’t have plans to hunt with this system and the extra ¾ “ is just a hassle for holsters and carrying. I do own a 5.25 xdm in 9mm and love that system too, but that is a range gun for me.

Some data points you should consider.

1. 10,000 rounds of 10mm shot through one lucky xdm to verify its ruggedness. Yep, no failures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83EpENxUJKM
   1. SA says they’ve ran over 30,000 rounds of 10mm through their test xdm 10mms.
2. SA marketing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiMf_eo4nNw
3. https://www.springfield-armory.com/xdm-10mm-features/
4. 15+1 magazines (verse 13+1 for 45 acp).
5. I love the grip safety for added peace of mind…especially while operating a vehicle (UTV/motorcycle).
6. I do like the default ambi-mag and slide release of XD*
7. The ergos are top notch IMO, only surpassed by M&P and sig p320s…but they don’t offer a 10mm
8. The xdm points just like a FN, S&W, Sig, 1911  and any other pistol except the odd glocks(glock fans…don’t be overly sensitive. I’ve owned about 5 too many glocks including several g20s…if you like glocks…great, if not great.). Glocks are better than Beretta m9s and H&Ks pistols IMO.
9. Match barrel and match trigger…from the factory.

1. The xdm 10mm will make my 10th XD variant in my collection (I have several XD, XDs, and now 4 XDms).
2. More folks can use the xdm grip vs glock grip. My hands are large enough this is moot for me.

Ammo recommendations:

For large predator defense.

1. http://www.brownells.com/ammunition/handgun-ammo/10mm-auto-220gr-hi-tek-coated-hard-cast-flat-nose-20-box-sku105003579-122669-227926.aspx
2. HEAVY 10MM OUTDOORSMAN – 220 gr. Hard Cast – FN (1,200 fps/ME 703 ft. lbs.) 20 Round Box

For venomous snakes:

I plan to use 40SW shotshell in my 10mm chamber. Shotshell usually has a Failure to eject (FTE) anyway. And so long as I clean chamber I doubt the soft lead will affect the xdm riflings for so few shotshells (a few to test at different distances and then a few venomous snakes).

Holster recommendations:

Being so new it might take some holster makers to add XDM 10mm to to their lineup. Well, LFD can make you a XDM 10mm holster Starting Oct 19th, 2018.

Foxy Tuck is a great option for conceal carry xdm 10mm!

For woods gun application, I ordered

https://gunfightersinc.com/spectre-shoulder-holster/

I have this holster for my sig p320 .357 sig and I LOVE the holster! I ordered one for the 10mm 🙂

I contacted SA about the size difference between the XDM 45 acp and xdm 10mm. This was their response.

<paste>

Thank you for your inquiry and congratulations on your new XDM 10mm!

The only size dimension that I can see that is different from the 4.5” .45 ACP and your 10mm is the length… and it’s very slight.

The .45 ACP is 7.6” and the 10mm is 7.7”.  I would recommend contacting Gun Fighters Inc. to see if they can confirm the fit.

</paste>

Thus, IMO the spectre 45ACP holster could be modified with a heat gun IF NECESSARY. Once I get one, I’ll let you know for sure…and likely make a video of it.

FITS NICE!

UPGRADES:

It is too bad we can’t order night sights from the factory…yet for the the xdm 10mm.

Night Sights (I prefer the traditional sights for precision shooting ) 

On the glock 20, I bought a 40SW barrel (and a 9×25 barrel), but with the XDM if I really really run out of ammo in some survival fantasy world, I know I can shoot 40SW out of a 10mm chamber (I did one full magazine or 40 SW through my g20 barrel…and the XDM is a stronger chamber). I’m NOT recommending you shoot 40 SW in the wrong chamber!!!!(YOU are responsible for your safety…so do NOT do it!)

FIELD TRIP1

xdm 10mm with 40sw shotshell at 6′

4 shots 10mm @ 10′

10mm at 15 yards

snakeshot at 10 feet

Installing night sights xdm 10mm

As I’ve said many times, one of the downsides to XD/XDMs is their sights are extremely TIGHT(once its done, this becomes an advantage).

I think this the 4-6th set of night sights I’ve installed on XD*

Here are the photos.

Please note, the red handled channel lock pliers are super long with lots of leverage. I used painters tape and still scratched/mar’d the slide THROUGH the tape because I had to squeeze the slide so tight as it was tilting as I was pushing the sight out.

I put my bore-laser in and it was super close. Before I started, I marked with a mechanical pencil the default sights, so I could install the night sights to the same line.

It was off just a little, so I adjusted the rear sight a little and put the laser back in and it was spot on. I adjusted every so slightly, as soon as I could perceive it moving; I stopped and put the laser in to re-check.

Based on 30-40 night sight installs, this laser has proven to be the magic. Of course we validate/confirm on paper.

UPDATE: Oct 2023

4th gen solution is a small fanny pack with a sig p365 in it. Turns out the chest protector with pouch is TOO HOT for me. The sweaty chest is the main radiator for us humans 🙂

I did fabricate a kydex “plate” to reduce the impact on my body in the event of a crash and I land on my hip.

For snowbiking, I plan to go back to the chest protector so I can run a larger self-defense pistol. Higher risk means I’ll have a chest protector and larger caliber.

I went with the “Mountainsmith Vibe Lumbar Waist” and I’m super happy with it. I have the larger “Vertx SOCP Sling Tactical Fanny Pack Waist” but seems too large for this application IMO.

In this video, I took my self defense tool, my dirt bike and myself for a bath in a river.  Pistol was fine after I cleaned it that night. https://youtu.be/rTYV16n_P0c?si=34AX5tOmMPUGV4v4

PREVIOUS

Carrying concealed firearm on a motorcycle has been a challenging issue to find a solution to. I’ve been trying different things for over a year and I think I’ve finally come up with a solution that meets my needs.

Requirements:

1. safe! Safe as in; can I deploy the gun in around 1 second? And safe as in, the gun won’t injury me or my loved ones/equipment.
2. Comfortable, otherwise I may not bring it along.
3. Secure. I do NOT want to lose my gun nor have unauthorized persons having access to it.

Here are the options ranked favorite to least favorite.

Option1: Retention/serpa holster mounted to handle bar while riding and then move the pistol to your fanny pack or underarm holster when you dismount from bike (at the restaurant or hotel/camping).

PlanA on a motorcycle is hit the gas or maneuver around threat quickly, like motorcycles can.

PlanB show and tell and “smile wait for flash”, which works for 2 legged predators, but not 4 legged predators.

Camera angle is just right to see holster in action. Cool river crossing too

Pros:

1. Not breaking ribs or injuring your body on a wreck, minor or major wreck.
2. Easily accessible, less than 1 second rule.
3. Very comfortable
4. Affordable. Serpa holster is under $30 and I was able to customize some kydex to ensure it never got lost, even if zip ties failed.

Cons:

1. You may forget the gun is strapped to your handle bars, but its right next to the key. But I forget my phone in my “phone mount” about 1 out of 3 and my hand passed right by my phone to hit the key.
2. Not super concealed while on the bike handle bar.
3. Your gun is open to dust/rain/elements, likely less damaging than sweat if you clean your gun after your motorcycle adventure this shouldn’t matter.
4. Likely running with a left handed serpa holster(so you can operate the throttle with your right hand). Another reason to train your left hand to run a gun professionally.
5. Operate the gun and the motorcycle at the same time.

Option2: Under arm holster (tested and this is my 2nd fav solution).

IMO the best under arm holster is the spectre shoulder holster for adventures (galco light around town works great too and much more affordable).

https://gunfightersinc.com/shop/spectre-shoulder-holster/

See my blog about details on spectre holster.

https://libertyfoxdefense.com/my-357-sig-predator-defense-system-for-off-road-adventures/

Pros:

1. With Motorcycle jacket unzipped a bit, you can get the gun out in about 1.5 seconds. but you can not operate the motorcycle and the gun at the same time.
2. Comfortable, almost never feel the gun even in rough trails
3. You don’t forget your gun and if you get knocked off your bike, you have your gun with you and can present it in a curled up position.

Cons:

1. In a wreck you likely will injury your ribs, especially with a double stack gun (much thicker).
2. Spare mag may fall out (with the spectre holster).

Option3: pocket carry, in a zippered pocket.

Revolver or sub-compact 380 or 9mm. Ether left/right or jacket zippered pocket.

Pros:

1. comfortable

Cons:

1. Unable to deploy while riding and unable to quickly present while off bike.
2. During a wreck, likely to injure groin area and w/o a grip safety or manual safety may even discharge!
3. Likely a much smaller caliber like a 9mm, which is not adequate for predator defense (mid to large predators, really only adequate for 2 legged predators IMO).

Option4: fanny pack

Pros:

1. Larger and more concealable pistol.
2. Carry other preparedness items in your fannypack (most dual sport riders that run a fanny pack have tools, but they put the pack in the back,not the front.

Cons:

1. Very slow presentation of firearm.
2. Males running pack in the front may feel discomfort in the front groin area (yeah, my testing made this evident quickly, standing up for rough trails going flat/down is fine, but going up a hill, where you need a lot of rear traction and its also bummy, likely going to feel some pain in the groin area).
3. Likely injury during a wreck.
4. Likely going to take pack off after riding. How do you responsibly secure your firearm? Is your gun going to be accessible if attacked?

Option5: belt mounted holsters, IWB/OWB.  (NOT recommended for dual-sport motorcycling, might be “ok” for street only bikes).

Pros:

1. Likely everyone already owns a IWB/OWB holster

Cons:

1. Even with an awesome Foxy Tuck holster, I just don’t see this being usable on a motorcycle because you are moving alot and depending on body-type/size it may not be concealable/accessible or likely not even safe.
2. Given riding seat angles, I think this would be very uncomfortable.
3. Given angles, likely not concealable.

I had a truck much like this back in 1999 and drove it for almost a decade.

So, its nice to have one again. Though, I don’t NEED it now, my growing family will soon need something like this and besides, I can teach all my kids to drive a clutch/stick.

It is not uncommon to see these for sale on KSL with 300,000 miles.

MOD1: tint windows to reduce heat from sun. $140. max legal tint in Utah.

MOD2: polish headlights and clearcoat so they don’t fog again. $50

MOD3: touch up existing black bedliner, with spray can bedliner.

NOTE rust on door.

MOD4:  Repaint hitch with bedliner.

MOD5: New door acutator $200.

When I got the tacoma the passenger door would not work, unless you ran the unlock twice. Dealer wanted $600, I did it for $200 in parts from amazon. Very complicated and you need 5 hands 😉

MOD6: Rear window lever replaced. $20

MOD7: remove rust-frozen rear hitch. $100

MOD8: fix droopy head rest.

I removed the headrest cover, got the foam in the right place and taped it, then put the headrest back on. Now it will provide protection in a wreck to our necks.

MOD9: Removed odd lug nuts and got regular ones. $20

MOD10: spare tire tools to lower spare tire. $40

BEDLINER BODY OF TRUCK

I’ve watched tons of vids and done some research and wanted to try bedlinering the body of a car/truck/jeep. To me, it really seals the metal from the elements and if it is scratched (much harder to scratch), you can repaint without a lot of prep work.

I went with raptor tintable bedliner. I used 2 of 4 bottles for the truck as shown in this project.

The white is a very good match.  For my first attempt, I decided to just do the bottom 1/3 (rock zone, or slider area).

Here is the ratio I did and it worked out really good.

60ML or 2 oz of “reducer”. I read that if you do 10-20% reducer, it will remove some of the rough texture of the bedliner. I purchased this from my local auto parts store. Similar to paint thinner.

414ml or 14 oz of “coat” this is the main product, and includes the white tint in that ratio.

119 ML or 4 oz of “hardener” that was included in the kit.

APPLICATION.

I decided, based on my experience of spraying bedliner on my trailer ramp vs rollering it on the rest of the trailer.  Spraying used a whole gallon for a ramp, whereas I had plenty left over rolling it on a 7×16 trailer (with a few other projects like work bench and bed extender for my UTV).

TIP: ensure you have plenty of fine grained foam rollers. After a few minutes, you will wear out the foam and parts of it will stick on your car…so swap foam rollers often!

HIGH LEVEL

1. sand down and remove most of the rust.
2. use paint thinner or rubbing achohol to clean the area
3. put POR15 only on rust spots
4. mask mask mask
5. before POR15 drys…like when it is still tacky, put top coat on it (to protect it from the sun). If not top coat, use primer.
6. read all the tips on this blog
7. ensure your ratios are correct. I did my motorhome rear bumper and it dried too quickly and eat my roller.

I think these are the rollers (I got mine at home depo).

an DI or old egg beater worked better than the fancy mixing stick.

POR15

TIP: if you use POR15 to convert the rust, ensure you paint it with your top coat or primer BEFORE it hardens, as it hardens hard as glass and won’t hold paint well, so I primer’d all the POR15 spots.

It was a bit tricky to mask the “chip guard”.

inside door jamb

Almost finished:

Hood chip gaurd

A few months ago, I read Larry Mudgett’s .357 sig article and thought, I need a compact predator defense system for off road (motorcycling and UTV’n).

SMALL PREDATOR DEFENSE SYSTEM: p320 .357 sig compact in shoulder holster/under arm holster.
MEDIUM PREDATOR DEFENSE SYSTEM: 10mm
LARGE PREDATOR DEFENSE SYSTEM: Ruger super redhawk 5″ 454 casull with my custom leather holster I made.

Having the goal of never owning another glock (I’ve owned 4-5 of them; I can afford better… to see pros/cons of glocks…not perfection, though I have tried to like them), I looked at my current systems and thought. I have a sig p320 9mm full sized, I wonder how much it would cost to get a x-change conversion kit. It was back ordered and took brownells a while to get it to me, but it finally came.

The xchange kit  ($320 with coupon & onsale) is cool, comes with basically a full gun with mag…except you don’t get the SN trigger control group. So new upper and new lower and NIGHT SIGHTS. You do need to keep your take-down pin.

Downside is mags are $40 each for the p320. Other than that, they seem pretty ideal. I love the trigger, looks & feel of the p320.

Where the xchange kit really shines is if you live in a commie state and it takes you months to be able to protect yourself/self-defense and you can add options (size/caliber) with one SN trigger control group (The gun according to the govt).

I thought about making a custom holster, but found this spectre under arm holster and so far, I really like it because of the elastic tether, wide straps and elastic around the critical spots. The hardware looks tough and hard to break too.

With the recent anti-selfdefense activist scam at youtube/google, you may really want to support and backup these channels.

Support them by using Patreon.com

backup them up by using youtube-dl.

cd /youtubebackup/nutnfancy

/usr/local/bin/youtube-dl -f best -citw -v https://www.youtube.com/user/nutnfancy/videos

Here is a list of youtubers you should support!

Demolitionranch

Johnlovell

Garand Thumb

Alaskan ballistics

Tactical toolbox

Funker tactical

Honest outlaw

Its tactical

Southern prepper 1

Team zero

Massad Ayoob

Nutnfancy

Hikok45

Military Arms Channel

Kitbadger

PaulHarrell

Activeselfprotection

Akoperators

Wranglerstar

Yankeemarshal

Faliaphotography

Gunblast

Luckygunner

Shootingthebull410

Sootch00

Ccwsafe

Trex arms

When I think of  survival guns, I think of guns I’m willing to bet my life on;  like a proven xDM, M&P …and AR15s, but once you have those, I think of “get home guns” and what comes to my mind is

• S&W M&P 22 pistol
• Lever action 357
• keltec su 16 (underfolder .556)
• Ruger take-down backpacker

I’ve written about these on my blog. I really like having a 22 pistol that is lightweight, carry hundreds of cartridges for small game, signalling & in a pinch self-defense.  22lr is NOT a self-defense cartridge! Imagine already being knifed, hit with brick/bat and you need to stop the attack NOW…before going unconscious.

I’m considering adding the new ruger PC carbine that takes glock mags to my “get home systems”.

https://ruger.com/products/pcCarbine/models.html

I’m kind of waiting for a non-ruger and non-glock mag version 🙂

https://www.lakemountainguns.com/products/semi-automatic-ruger-10-22-736676111008

My buddy Craig of lake mountain guns says he’ll beat or match budsguns.com! (generally). I’ve ordered a new “get home” system called the midland backpacker 12 ga. Its an break-open action.

Niche being hitting flying/quick game for food in a get home system. Its also very short (& legal) and folds up for discrete storage.

Craig of lake mountain guns is willing to do a group buy on these midland backpackers, let me know if you are interested.

Video of midland backpacker:

Jack mentioned them on the podcast “bug out trailer” pt3.

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/bots-part-3

I’m taking notes on the podcast (bug out trailers) and I’m putting them on the bottom of my blog:

https://libertyfoxdefense.com/preparedness-trailer/

https://www.military.com/kitup/2018/01/12/midland-arms-unveils-folding-shotgun-line-backpacks.html

I think it’d fit under the seat of my UTV 🙂
but my ruger 10/22 take down backpacker lives there!

My buddy Craig can get these midland shotguns for about $140(if we do a group buy of 3-4).

https://www.lakemountainguns.com/products/midland-backpack-000462712183

I think the 18.5” 12 ga is the way to go. Being able to store it in a compact area is key 😉

There are several models:

https://www.lakemountainguns.com/search?q=%22Midland+Backpack%22

ADD to a small folding shotgun is adapters kits. Feeding almost any ammo to your shotgun.

https://www.gunadapters.com/kits/

To me, I’d rather have a sighted in 9mm pistol or 22 pistol/rifle (or best would be a 30cal rifle), but for a little bit more you could have a shoot anything system. The downside is you have suckie sights…that are likely not sighted in for your new cartridge you just “fantasy picked up to fight the zombies”.

https://www.gunadapters.com/stack-n-pack-kit/

Here is a small “stack kit”

Dave Canterbury really like this shotgun system for outdoor survival.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&source=hp&ei=5iF-WqfYGoyWjQP-h4rwAQ&q=dave+canterbury+outdoor+survival+shotgun&oq=dave+canterbury+outdoor+survival+shotgun&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i160k1.470.470.0.905.2.1.0.0.0.0.98.98.1.1.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.1.97.0…0.iWyAna5aeUY

For me, I’d rather have a 454 with snapshot 😉

I often have the need to use 22 shorts…suppressed or otherwise. I tested this and found it to work with ruger 10/22 & ruger American Rimfire.

So, start with an empty 10/22 magazine. First bullet in, is a 22 LR. 2nd round in is the 22 short!

The 22 LR helps provide support for the 22 short to feed properly.

Here is a video of me proving it works.

How to feed 22 shorts in a 22 long rifle

I tried every other cartridge, but it didn’t work. I think the 22 short allows the longs to tip inward and thus it doesn’t work.

Just load 1 22lr and 1 22short in multiple mags 😉  Hey, this beats trying to chamber feed a 22 short…with needle nose pliers.

Frequently I get asked about what AR15 people should buy. I usually ask a lot of questions around budget, niche/purpose and what people are leaning towards.

For the past 4 years, I’ve been recommending West Desert Tactical (WDT) AR15s and I still do. For the price, it can not be beat. If you search my blog for ar15, you’ll see plenty of articles raving about all the details.

Lets recap the WDT AR15s. 1:8 twist, comfortable and expandable handgaurd via keymod. Fully customizable with magpul furniture (no need to buy and then put in box lots of spare parts, just build it the way you want).

IF WDT ar15 were not available, or if someone was remote and unable to build their own with WDT…what would I recommend?

Before I met Austin/WDT, I often recommended Rock River Arms (RRA) ar15s for several reasons, I love their RRA 2stage Match triggers, handgaurds and ruggedness.

I went back to their website and they have A LOT of options! So, let me guide you. Based on my experience/understanding I believe your first ar15 should be a pretty standard M4 for training. Don’t get too radical in your first ar15. After your first ar15 and you have professional training (Marksmanshipmatters.com is the most highly recommended training school), then you can make a “house clearing fantasy rifle or long range sniper fantasy rifle”.

Thomas recommendations/requirements:

1. Free float for better accuracy
2. 1:8 twist barrel, non-chrome lined if you can find it. This is counter to most of the industry, if you plan to abuse your rifle maybe chrome lined is proper for you. non-chrome is more accurate.
3. no fixed frontsight, so if you have a reddot or less than 1.5x magnification, you don’t have a field of view issues.
4. 1 MOA or close to 1 MOA (1″ at 100y, 2″ at 200y and so on).
5. non-milspec trigger, ugg, the milspec triggers are so nasty. I recommend the rock river match trigger!
6. non-poky handgaurd, those quad rails are sure a PIA! I suggest a m-lok 15″ ish handgaurd.

Rocker River Arms (RRA)

1. RRA rifles are guaranteed 1 MOA
2. RRA rifles are guaranteed for life.

Here is my RRA top picks:

LAR15 x series 

LAR-15 Competition 

LAR-15 Coyote

LAR-15 ATH 

I HIGHLY suggest you find a good deal from  (Lake Mountain Guns) &  gun.deals slickguns.com

RUGER

Ruger is one of my all time favorite manufacturer and companies. I don’t care for their semi-auto pistols, but I love their revolvers and rifles!

Ruger MPR, only downside is it is 18″, if they have a freefloat in 16″ for the price, I think they would be hard to beat.

Springfield Armory

I’m not sure they make a gun I don’t love 😉 1911, m1a, xd & xdm…all some of my top favs!

I pet’d the saint at shotshow 2017 and really feel in love with it. I think it hits a sweet spot for price/quality. I don’t have a lot of milage with them personally, but I hear they are legendary.

http://www.springfield-armory.com/products/saint-5-56-w-free-float-handguard/

Smith & Wesson ar15

Google nutnfancy and M&P 15, you’ll be impressed, including their ar10 (308)

M&P Vtax II

15t with mlok

Bushmaster

Lot of my friends have owned bushmasters and are happy with them.

COLT

My opinion of colt isn’t good. I believe they are mismanaged company (Unionist commies), don’t listen to their customers…on their high horse…much like Glock. If they could sell the Colt 1911 rights to ruger…they could go out of business as far as I’m concerned.

Conclusion

There are literally thousands of ar15 makers. and they are ALL ON SALE!  Buy low, sell high, right!?! I’ve never seen ar15s for so little money, I hope you buy 4-5 of them. Next panic, you might be able to sell one to pay for the others 😉

Try some of my recommendations, if you don’t like them, you are not married to them, you can offload them and try something else.

I own a SIG 516 and I really like the quality and features. Not everyone likes this system, but I do. I also own DPMS (my first ar15 I bought about 10 years ago…before that I was on an AK47 kick 😉

Most of what I own are brownells ar15s & WDT ar15s, but I do have a few high ends. If you have the budget, you might look at the SIG MCX

November 2017, I attended a TSP workshop that had an additional workshop on making custom knives.

Patrick Roehrman of MTKnives (owner & master craftsman) mentored 8 attendees.

I’m not a huge fan of neckknives, but I’m a fan of learning from a master craftsman. The workshop was an additional $400.  The workshop provided time, talent & materials so when we finished we have a high-end custom knife that sells for $500(if you can even get one, there is a very long wait to buy a knife built by Patrick), plus we get the know-how of someone that has made thousands of knives and spent thousands of dollars/hours learning their craft. The what-not-to-do, is priceless.

Many times Patrick would come to the rescue and “fix” our newbie “signatures” (our mess-ups).

There were many times when it was comforted having the master looking over and helping out when irreversible damage is about to happen. Learning from mistakes is good, but learning from a completely wrecked knife-build is expensive….and frustrating.

The most expensive training is the training you don’t have…and you fail.

To me if you/we have to use a blade for self-defense, that is a very very bad day. Much better to use a handgun for an unexpected attack.  Knives are a support-tool for the mission. A neck-knife IMO is for EDC cutting and repair and possible improvised tool for other tasks.  My EDC includes a Husky razor blade, SpyderCo endura wave, protac light & sog multi-tool (which also has a blade..that I never use).  I abuse the husky razor blade on amazon boxes and almost all my cutting. If I need a longer blade (ex cutting food), I use the spyderco….and now I have the option to use THE KNIFE I MADE!

Using commercial knives is fine, but at a certain point in life, its worth it to have a blade made by a craftsman…not a robot.  Patrick’s knife is much much sharper than a brand new razor blade!  The people I’ve shown the knife Patrick helped me build, say they have never seen a knife that sharp! Yep, Beyond Razor Sharp!

As you can see from the photos, we had a lot of success and I’m very pleased with the outcome.

PLEASE support Patrick, we want him making knives for life! He is a good/solid guy and has a large family. I think I’ve purchased everything he has for sale online.  DOLLAR VOTES FOR GOOD PEOPLE!

I suggest you buy his starter knife(The Genesis II), I know you’ll love it! I hope someday you can upgrade to the knife I built.

BUILD PHOTOS

Trying to determine where you want the grains to show-up on the handle takes the experts eye.   Doing woodwork, the eye really loves to see the curves of the grains, so set-up is critical IMO.

Here is the photo after a bandsaw, we cut to the OUTSIDE of the marking. So we can grind/sand down to be flush with the steel.

First night, we worked hard to get it ready for the epoxy. Using a q-tip to clean along the edge. We also sanded to perfection the part we wouldn’t be able to sand w/o marring the blade (think front of handle area).