Tires after an Economic Collapse‏

Hi Fernando,
I've seen you write about criminals attacking cars using foam or other things to force a driver to stop so they could steal the car, did you ever see criminals attack a car's tires? Also did new tires become hard to acquire or did they just go up in price like everything else did?
Sean

Hi Sean,
Thanks for your email. There’s actually a few things worth mentioning.
First, yes tires did become pretty expensive, even more so than in USA or Europe, especially if you wanted to get good ones and not some cheapo ones made in China.
You have to understand that once a country goes down like Argentina did after the economic collapse, there’s an amazing number of factor that come into play all at the same time and tires are just an example. A bankrupt government means very poorly kept roads. Roads fall apart surprisingly fast if not cared for. There’s potholes all over the place and are at times impossible to avoid. Sometimes they are downright craters that can not only ruin a tire or rim but break an axis as well. Suspensions need to be changed pretty frequently as well because of this. No money means no cleaning and the roads are full of all kinds of litter and debris, the chances of getting a punctured tire are pretty big. An economic collapse means people are desperate for money… including mechanics and tire shops. It was and still is pretty common for shops to “spike” the roads with nails so as to get more work repairing flat tires. At one point the roads were so full of nails you could easily get two or three flat tires a week until you realized which roads had been spiked.

Bridgestone Dueler H/L 400 Run-flat All-Season Radial Tire

Criminals also use this same method to force you to stop and carjack you or mug you. The most sensible thing to do if you got a flat tire in an isolated part of the road was to keep driving anyway you could until you got to a gas station or more populated area so as to avoid getting attacked. Even then there were no guarantees but yes, it was a tactic commonly used by criminals as well. Maybe the most common one is to simply throw a brick through your windshield to force you to stop. People have been serious injured, even killed because of this.

Stanley J5C09 1000 Peak Amp Jump Starter with Built in Compressor
This is yet another reason why I believe a SUV makes so much sense. A bigger car with bigger tires is more likely to have more rubber and hold on better against nails and such. If possible, I think it’s a great idea to get runflat tires just for this kind of situation. If anything, at least check your spare tire, have an inflator (or better yet a charger compressor combo like the one above) and know how to change a tire.
Take care,
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”.

Arrive home to an ongoing robbery …

Henderson County man Arrested After Shoot-out With Homeowner

This guy came back shooting. Crazy!
C-
Thanks for the link.
Notice a couple things,
1)The window of opportunity. The two most vulnerable moments of the day in high crime areas (and the most vulnerable even in safer ones) is when leaving or entering the house. That’s when you’re more likely to be attacked, that’s when you should be extra careful and aware of what’s going on around you.
2)The legality of the shooting. The attacker threatened the victim first with a gun. The home owner didn’t rush in guns blazing. While in some States you can use lethal force in defense of your property, in others you are required to be in legitimate fear of your life. In this case there’s no doubt about the house owner being threatened with a firearm and the justification of the shooting. It could have easily been a very different outcome with the victim in jail instead. Make sure you know your local laws and make sure you know them well, especially when it comes to the legal status of the use of firearms, self-defense and the use of lethal force.
I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Sure, no argument there. But you know what’s the reality-based survival twist to that saying? If I’m getting judged by 12, I sure as hell want a “not guilty” verdict.
Counting on WROL working in your favour is as wise as counting on getting away with doing something illegal, its just a VERY bad idea.
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”.

Pocket EDC Update and my BOV

Reply: WROL? You better know your Local Laws

Fernando,
Hey amigo. I haven’t heard from you for some time. Good to know you’re still out there writing excellent, realistic articles like this one. I think in any Argentina-like inflationary situation cash, especially in the form of gold and silver, would rule.
I agree with you that WROL is unlikely to occur (failing a truly catastrophic event that shatters all infrastructure). The U.S. government and most State governments have “continuity of government” plans to insure their survival and ability to remain in power. They even have plans for dealing with such horrifying events as a massive or nuclear EMP. Note that I don’t claim their plans will be effective but they do exist. So a total collapse of police or fire protection, or medical services is unlikely–though a severe decline in or corruption of such services is possible.
About shooting looters or home invaders. In most States, killing someone is deemed justified if you feel like your life (or that of a family member, etc.) is threatened. Colorado has a “Make My Day” law that allows a person to use deadly force to defend their home and that has been held to apply to “on their property” not just “inside the house.” The law you cited is that “Make My Day” law and anyone who kills someone under paragraph 2 of that law is immune from prosecution (paragraph 3) or from civil liability (paragraph 4).
Still, not all States have such laws, so it is wise to know the laws of the State in which you reside.
I have enjoyed reading your books and found them very informative. My own are fictional and envision a total societal collapse caused by a massive asteroid impact. If you haven’t got around to reading them yet I’d love for you to click on my website link and check them out.
Ray
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Hello Ray,
That’s why its so important to know not only exactly what the law says, but also what it means. For this last part most folks will need to have a conversation with a lawyer or attend a shooting class which includes legal advice.
Fearing for ones life for example, means there has to be a believable threat. This usually does not include shooting people in the back while moving away, especially when outside private property. This is why it’s a VERY bad idea to chase criminals. Its practically impossible to claim self-defense when the criminals are traveling away from you while you chase them.
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”.

SEALs go Glock: Naval Special Warfare to adopt Glock 19

It had already been in use by several special forces units but its now official and the Glock 19 will slowly replace the venerable SIG226.
Personally I think it’s the best choice they could possibly make. In fact, the Glock 19 is the handgun I specifically recommend in my book “The Modern Survival Manual”, both for novel shooters and experts. In my opinion it combines reliability, compactness, accuracy, light weight, ease of use, ammo capacity and ease of maintenance like no other firearm in the planet. Of all the people I taught how to shoot, without exception all of them, men and women, large hands or smaller ones, they all shot considerably better with the Glock 9mm than with any other gun. At the same time 95% of expert shooters that I consider worthy of taking note of what firearm they carry, they all choose Glocks.
As a one and only firearm I have a tad of a preference for the slightly larger full size Glock 17 (the smaller Gen 4 is just perfect IMO), but I understand that for special forces operators that already carry a rifle and considerable weight, the lighter weight and more compact model 19 is better suited as a small yet fully capable, full capacity secondary firearm. The shorter barrel of the Glock 19 also means that the addition of a sound suppressor does not excessively extend the overall length of the firearm, which is yet another desirable feature. The Glock 19 is perfect for covert operations where better concealment is important, while still retaining the same firearm used as a sidearm along with their long arm during training.
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”.