More dead in Venezuela as violence continues

It’s been several days of protesting, rioting and looting in Venezuela, claiming several fatal victims every day.
More than two dozen people have been killed in less than a month and young people keep leaving the country.
People are starving, protesters are getting gunned down by the police and Maduro supporters and it seems that Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorship is running on fumes.

Even people with jobs are  looking through garbage to find food. Inflation has spiralled out of control long ago and the lie that is the Venezuelan government can’t keep food on the shelves.
An interesting fact and important reminder: Less than Lethal 12ga ammo (plastic buckshot) CAN be lethal at very close range. Gruseny Calderon was killed by rubber bullets that pierced his lung and liver.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Caterpillar VIP Bag?

Message:
greetings, am curious on the vip bag from cat. link to view and
purchase. good video on supplies
-Anthony
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Hello,
This is the bag you are talking about, the one pictured in my book, "Bugging Out and Relocating".
I cant seem to find it. I bought it many years ago and these things rarely stay in production for long. They get replaced by new, more appealing models.
The closest thing I found from CAT was this tablet bag. I’d probably buy something like this for my VIP bag. Something small, tough and inconspicuous. Being a “tablet” bag, keeping an actual tablet in it isnt a bad idea either so as to access important files, go on line, etc.

CAT The Project Tablet Bag $18.56

For those that aren’t familiar with the VIP Bag concept. You probably know what a Bug Out Bag is, a bag with items you take when escaping or evacuating, usually including food, water, spare clothes, etc. VIP bag stands for very important papers(or possessions) bag. Most immigrants from my grandparents generation had something like this, usually kept in a box, they would keep passports, birth certificates, some family heirlooms, etc. Its basically the same concept but in a more handy container ready to go.  If you need to move fast, if you are injured, if you have to help others escape, injured family, and taking your BOB isn’t possible, at least you would have the essentials in the VIP while still being mobile.
Items to keep in your VIP bag are important documents such as passports, birth certificates, copies of documents and other important files in a USB drive, car and home spare keys, cash and precious metals, maybe even a compact handgun like a Glock 19 and spare magazine. The paper documents and cash should be kept in a ziplock bag to protect them from water. Its not a bug out bag, its something far more compact mostly intended for those important documents.
I suggest keeping it in a fireproof safe. This would be the first thing to grab when bugging out, when you only have seconds to safe your life (flash flood, fire).
Check this previous post to learn more about BOB bags and VIP bags.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Should your handgun have a manual safety?

US military new gun, the Sig P320
Fernando,
Your video showing the victims who went for guns that did not have a round in the chamber tells us that they most likely had pistols that did not have mechanical safeties, or if they did have safeties they did not have them engaged.
Either way, they probably thought that keeping the chamber empty was a way to keep the gun from being discharged accidentally by themselves or others who might pick it up.
We have exchanged notes before about the desirability or the undesirability of mechanical safeties on pistols.
While adherents of the no-safety guns make various arguments in defense of their position, a couple of points can be made.
I can send you many articles on many accidental shootings with guns that just “went off” and shot somebody.  These guns were fired by toddlers who somehow got their hands on them (gun owners’ neglect) all the way up to “highly trained” people such as law enforcement officers.  (Interesting that these articles don’t ever disclose the model of pistol involved—wonder if they are worried about legal liabilities.)
But since toddlers probably don’t know how to disengage a manual safety, and competent adults would not deliberately disengage a safety in an unsafe setting, we might conclude that these shootings overwhelmingly are with pistols that do not have a manual safety.
A few months ago, one of the popular gun magazines had an article by a lady firearms trainer who swore that she would never have a pistol with a safety, saying “That is just something else to fumble with” if she had to use her gun.  Strange—you would think that a professional would be trained to the point where there would be no “fumbling.”
Certainly, a gun with a round in the chamber and a manual safety engaged would have been better than the “rack and then shoot” scenarios in your video.
Larry
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Hello Larry,
That’s a good point but you have to keep in mind two words: police and military.
For concealed carry I can tell you one thing; Go with a Glock. Round chambered, no safety.
Your child should NOT take hold of your gun, a safety does not make you a good parent, it does not compensate for lack of training either.
Now for a cop that may lose his gun in a struggle with a suspect, a soldier that may lose his gun in a fight, maybe when handling prisoners, these can be reasons for a safety. I do remember though a cop that had a negligent discharge with his Beretta 92, a gun that has a safety. Safeties do not in any way compensate for improper gun handling. But when it comes to losing the gun to someone that may use it against you (and lack the training to quickly disengage the safety) it may save a life.  Maybe that’s why they required it for their new issued handgun, the Sig Sauer P320.  I bet special forces will stick to their Glocks though, and so should you. A well trained operator, civilian or military, will take the most advantage of a gun without manual safety and a chambered round.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

[VIDEO] Empty chamber and lack of training gets you killed

Lever action 22LR: Winchester or Henry?

This is about the most ridiculous article I’ve ever read. Perhaps if someone is independently wealthy, a $1200 + .22 rifle might be something they want to add to their collection but for most of us, that would never be a consideration when you could pick up 3 Henry lever action rifles for the price of 1 9422. If the reviews are to be believed, the Henry is every bit as reliable if not more so. For the price of just 1 9422, a wise shopper could conceivably purchase a .22 lever action Henry, a 12 guage pump, a self defense sidearm chambered in 9mm or .40 caliber and a .22 semi auto such as the Ruger 10/22. Trying to persuade your readers that a $1200 .22 has any practical purpose in survival is ludicrous.
-A

I suppose you didn’t read the part about “In my opinion you are best served with a semi auto 22LR such as a Ruger 10/22 or a Marlin.” My posts aren’t that long, try reading them in full next time before getting so upset.
And no, the Henry is a great 22 (clearly the way to go for the money ) but better than the Winchester it is not. The fact that the 9422 can get pretty expensive to buy doesn’t change in any way its performance as a firearm. I can buy two Hi-Point 9mm for the price of a Glock… I’d still rather have the Glock.

That rifle has been out of production for many years and they have gotten very expensive, if you can locate one. People would be better served with a Henry lever gun. Excellent quality, affordable, and currently available.
-Kurt

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Other than the superior construction, the same traits and qualities of the Winchester apply to the Henry. Basically you’re still talking about a reliable, handy .22 lever action that can handle S, L and LR.
I actually had to pick between the Winchester 9422 XTR (pictured in the post below, which I bought) and a Henry rifle. I wanted something affordable because this was mostly intended for my son. Can’t remember the exact price but I believe I paid around 350 USD for it, plus shipping and paperwork. The used Henry was about the same price, maybe 50 USD cheaper. The Henry was sold by someone local, so I was saving on shipping money.
You see, I didn’t spend $1000, and actually knowing which one was best allowed me to make an informed decision. So if you’re buying a used one, find a good deal somewhere, or if you so happen to be rich which some people are, it’s good to know what you’re dealing with.
The Henry is also a great little 22LR for the money, but obviously the Winchester 9422 is better. It has an all steel construction, forged steel receiver and is simply built to a higher standard. In fact that standard was so high and it was so expensive to make, that’s why they stopped producing it in the first place. This is why you see some very old Winchesters, beaten the crap out of and with almost no bluing left still ticking, the kind of gun that outlasts its owner with ease. This is why they are highly regarded and go for pretty high prices.
As I said in the previous post, if you want to keep it simple and cheap get a Ruger 10/22. You should own one anyway.
For what I had in mind (and yes, given that the price wasn’t an issue) the Winchester presented certain advantages.
As a heirloom gun, its hard to go wrong with a lever action Winchester. For a novel shooter the lever action makes the shooter take his time, be more aware of the round in the chamber and overall keeps things simple and at a nice slow pace to learn proper marksmanship, even if with practice he can become pretty fast with it. In my son’s case playing “Fallout” and liking to use the lever action in the game was an added bonus.
As for the price, of course it makes no sense to spend a grand on a 22 unless you have money to throw around, but if you can get it for a great price like I did then more power to you. Nothing wrong with owning a gun that keeps gaining value as time goes by, rather the opposite.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Utility Gun: 7 Reasons to own a Winchester 9422 in 22LR

I make no apologies for saying that a Glock 9mm pistol should be the first gun you should own.
The way I see it if a gun is going to save your life, the most likely situation you’ll be involved in will be one of self-defense against two legged predators. A Glock will do that for you. It will protect you in your home, and it will do it when out and about when carried concealed, something no shotgun or rifle can do. I can’t think of many cases of home defense shootings where a full magazine of 9mm wasn’t enough and a long arm would have made much of a difference. On the other hand I know of numerous cases of people getting killed because they weren’t unarmed and simply unable to defend themselves.

Now, a handgun is just one firearm in your battery. I suggest getting a semi auto rifle, some people will go for an AR, maybe an AK. Those that hunt will want to have a good big bore rifle for such purpose, usually a scoped bolt action rifle and most people will agree a 22 is a must have as well. In my opinion you are best served with a semi auto 22LR such as a Ruger 10/22 or a Marlin. Having said this, when it comes to a reliable, accurate, built like a tank dependable carbine that will fire any .22 rimfire, S, L and LR, then the Winchester 9422 is what you’re looking for.

The utility gun

There’s one niche that most people will try to fill and that’s the one of a utility gun. A gun that is more of a tool in your toolbox, reliable, durable but most of all intended to fullfill certain practical, mundane roles.
Typically the shotgun has been that multi purpose utility gun. Especially when it comes to pump action shotguns like the Mossberg 500 with easily replaced barrels you can get one with a long barrel for bird hunting and a shorter one for slugs and for home defense. In my opinion this combo makes for the swiss army knife of the gun world.
Very hot on its heels though is the venerable 22LR carbine. The humble 22 may not be as versatile as a 12 ga shotsell but the round has been perfected over the years into what is today the most cost effective round in the planet, making it arguably the best all-round utility gun in most households for the money. Utility being defined as “capable of being put to use” the uses for a 22 carbine are many:

• Small game hunting (and then some). When push comes to shove, for the same value, weight and volume, nothing puts as much food on the table as a box of 22LR. The round is clearly intended for small game, but larger animals are often dispatched with a well-placed round and even killing larger game (far from ideal though) such as deer or even hogs is possible with headshots.
• Pest control. Sure you can blast squirrels with a 12 ga shell, but the ammo is more expensive, both gun and ammo are heavier and they make more of a mess. When you want to keep it simple (and you don’t want to blow up everything around the tree rat you’re trying to kill) then 22 saves the day. With the right load it can be pretty quiet as well given the ability to shoot 22 shorts and its 20 inch barrel.
• Target practice and plinking. 22LR lends itself nicely for that. These are great guns to learn the basics with. Its easy for new shooters to understand the basic working of the firearm and identify the different components and moving parts. The lever action also happens to be one of the most enjoyable guns to operate. The mechanism forces the new shooters to take their time rather than spray the target, preserving ammunition and making each shot count. The fantastic trigger, nice sights and option of mounting optics means you can squeeze a lot of accuracy out of it.
• If there’s one brand I’ve seen in shooting ranges around the world, guns worn and weathered with almost no bluing left, yet still running and running well, that would be Winchester. 22s can be picky at times, liking some ammo more than others, or downright refusing to run reliably all together unless certain ammo is fed. While semi auto is faster, in exchange for that speed the Winchester lever action gives you unparalleled reliability. Any .22 you feed down that tube will run.
 

 
• Rimfire options. Unlike a Ruger 10/22, the Winchester 9422 can fire 22 S, L and LR. This can be quite an advantage when getting by with whatever ammo you manage to scrounge, again the lever action mechanism being a plus when dealing with older ammo that may not be in ideal condition.
  
• The Winchester 9422 isnt the lightest of 22s, but it can be easily broken down in a more compact package. It’s easy to fit in a backpack along with a few hundred rounds of ammo and carry it without breaking your back.
• Last ditch self-defense. 22LR sure isnt what you want for self-defense. Even if that’s what you have, a 22 semi auto with a large capacity mag would clearly be a better option. Still, when combined with a handgun, the Winchester gives you a platform to easily reach out and touch someone that happens to be further away and the 15 round magazine gives you a nice supply of ammo. Although there clearly are better options and you should have a fighting rifle in your battery, I wouldn’t like to be running around a field with someone taking shot at me with the Winchester 9422.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Your privacy was just sold: 5 steps to protect what’s left of it

You’ve probably heard the news already, but if you haven’t then know that the House quietly voted to undo rules that keep internet service providers — the companies like Comcast, Verizon and Charter that you pay for online access — from selling your personal information.

How the Republicans Sold Your Privacy to Internet Providers

What websites you visit, your location, everything they can get from you now is theirs to sell to the highest bidder.
Yay freedom!
Anyway, there’s not a lot you can do but every little helps. These are just five simple things the average Joe can do to protect at least some of that privacy.

1)Start Using Firefox
It’s the best browser anyway.
Here’s a link with some of the ad ons and set up to improve your privacy.
https://vikingvpn.com/cybersecurity-wiki/browser-security/guide-hardening-mozilla-firefox-for-privacy-and-security
 
2)Stop using Google
Yes, it can be done. Use Duck Duck Go instead as your main search engine. To be honest I still use Google when DDG isn’t giving me good results but not using google is probably the biggest step toward privacy. DDG basically uses Google, but it does it for you while remaining anonymous.

3)Stop using Whatsapp
Since it got sold to Facebook you know what to expect. Shameless abuse of your privacy. Telegram is pretty much the same thing and just as simple to use, but you get to keep your privacy.

4)Stop using Facebook
I’ll be honest. I don’t use it, and those of you that do probably see I hardly keep up with it. My blog posts are automatically reposted on Facebook but I just don’t know how to use 99% of it. The thing is, even if you do like and use Facebook, its as creepy as a company can be, with no regards whatsoever for your privacy of course. At the very least, try not posting vital information like your address, birthday, when you go on holydays or when you make big financial decisions. All of this isnt just about privacy, its about physical safety.

5)Cover the camera of your laptop
My wife first started doing this years ago. I thought she was a complete lunatic. “I don’t know who’s watching” she said. “baby, no one’s watching you” I said back then. Oh, I was so naïve its even cute now that I think about it. Yes, they do spy on you, they use facial recognition technology on you to get your biometric data and God only knows what else, how you react to different data, different products or ads? Disable your camera and microphone when not in use, or as Mark Zuckerberg does and FBI Director James Comey advices people to do, put some tape on it.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

(Free) New US Air Force SERE Manual

The new Survival Evasion Resistance Escape (SERE) Operations Manual is available free online and it’s actually pretty great. It’s a rather large file so rather than opening it with the browser I suggest to right click and directly download the PDF.
AF Handbook 10-644 SERE 21 March 2017
The USAF survival manual has always been a solid survival literature staple, often used as reference or downright plagiarized by more than a few survival manuals out there. This latest version is packed full of good updated info.
Keep a copy in your PC, you phone and flash drive, heck, take the time and print a hard copy of it as well.
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.