Mel Tappan’s Personal Survival Letter # 7

Issue No. 7

Keeping It Together
by Carl Kirsch, M.D.

Editor’s Note: This article is the introduction to a unique series of columns that will be an ongoing feature of PS
Letter. I am confident that the material to be presented here in coming months will -alone- be worth several times
the PS Letter subscription price to serious and practical survivalists.

Dr. Kirsch is particularly well-qualified to present this material, since he is not only a survivalist and a practicing
psychiatrist specializing in stress management, but his professional background also includes extensive experience
in emergency medicine and several forms of alternative medicine, from homeopathy to acupuncture, as well as
nutrition, herbalism, and meditation. He is an internationally recognized authority and researcher in the field of
bioenergetics, an holistic approach to healing and maintaining health. MT.

Stress and Survival

On Thursday afternoon your business had to be closed down. You had stayed around where you lived in order to
keep earning a living for as long as possible. Now you felt it was time to get to your retreat. There had been many
warning signs. Food had been short and the economy unstable for awhile. Some disorders had occurred. You felt
prepared and had decided to stay as long as possible. That evening you met with your friends that were retreating
with you, and decided to leave in two days.

Those next two days were busy. There was not much time to rest as you packed up the things you needed to take
with you. You were quite thankful that you had prepared as well as you had. Practically everything you needed was
already at the retreat.

Still there was a lot to do, for you were leaving a house and a place where you had lived for many years. You had to
decide which mementos to take, which things to leave, and what to do with everything that was left. Also you had
to decide what you should do with your house, just in case things got better and you were later able to return.

You closed the house the best you could against vandals and on Saturday, at midday your family and the rest of
your party gathered and you all started for the retreat in two cars. The four-hour drive seemed much longer than
usual. Some of the towns you passed through on the way showed signs of some small disorders. You bypassed
them whenever possible. All in all it went smoothly. The children, quite edgy, seemed to cry and fight more than
usual.

The adults were silent except for the occasional comments that were necessary for getting there. That night, at the
retreat, the atmosphere was tense and you decided to wait until morning to unpack the cars. The next morning, after
they were unpacked, everybody began to go about their different tasks which had been worked out in advance.
During the next few days there was some confusion as everyone tried to find out where things were, organize daily
routines, and settle into the new place. The confusion decreased somewhat after the first week, but it still remained
difficult to find things and to make do with substitutions.

The house seemed quite crowded with the two families that included two grandparents and two additional adults.
Two of the children were not eating much and remained listless, off by themselves, not even wanting to play. One
woman stayed in her room, crying quite a bit.

You and some of the others noticed one man who seemed to be sitting around staring most of the time when he was
out in the field, supposedly to do chores. Grandpa’s heart condition became worse with more frequent chest pain by
the following week. Grandma’s diabetes required increasing insulin and she still had sugar in her urine. You
wondered if you would run out of insulin.

You felt fatigued, occasionally found it difficult to catch your breath, and noticed a lot of tension in your stomach.
Your muscles often ached, which you attributed to the physical work which you weren’t used to doing.

Then, over a couple days, three people developed fevers. One adult had tremendous pain when he urinated, another
had diarrhea and vomiting, and a child couldn’t swallow without pain and her neck was swollen. Being prepared,
you had the antibiotics and medications to treat these conditions. The infections cleared up, but the woman with the
gastrointestinal disorder still didn’t feel or look well.

After that the man whom you had seen sitting in the field staring, hurt his hand badly on a piece of equipment.
Then, when you were fixing the roof, one of the men holding the scaffolding for you let go of his side and you fell,
almost getting seriously hurt.

As the weeks went by more accidents, infections, fatigue, crying, irritability, and difficulty with already existing
illnesses continued to occur. Your muscles ached, especially around the shoulders, and the difficulty catching your
breath continued. There were two more episodes of people who appeared to be doing well who suddenly (like the
man who let go of the rope on the scaffold) did something dangerous or surprising.

You were very surprised. You thought you had prepared well for this time and that you had a comfortable,
well-located retreat to go to. It was true that there was a lot of work to do, but even so, you had most of the things
you would need and all the tasks had been planned ahead. Food had been stored along with hunting and defense
supplies, tools, gold, silver, barter items, and books.

Still it was not as you expected and not like going camping or away on vacation. People were getting sick or
depressed or becoming unreliable. There was more tension than usual, with more frequent fights, as well as strange
silences in the air. You couldn’t figure out what happened. You had prepared for some illnesses but you hadn’t
thought that anything like this instability might happen.

There was nothing in the survival literature that you’d read or in the whole wall of books you had collected at the
retreat that gave you any idea about what was happening. You felt confused, concerned, and sometimes, though you
didn’t like to admit it, even hopeless about trying to straighten out this situation so that things could run smoothly
without constant people problems. But what could you do, you thought, as you sat one night with your head in your
hands.
What is happening in this hypothetical retreat situation and why was the leader of this group unprepared for these
events? The survival books and newsletters usually deal with retreats, timing of investments, guns, ammunition,
food and water storage, vehicles, tools, barter items, gold and silver, and the handling of first aid and medical
emergencies.

However, the issues that are related to the stress and the dislocations that will occur during a retreat situation are not
usually considered, beyond the mere mention that they may occur and that people should be prepared for them. But
how can you prepare for something that is not discussed in detail?

Without more knowledge you would very likely be caught up in a situation like that faced by the people in this
retreat group. I will discuss their problems in detail later on in this column.

The function of this and future columns will be to discuss stress and survival; In order to deal with the stresses that
come up in a survival or retreat situation you will need to know a lot about what happens psychologically and
physiologically under stress conditions.

From my viewpoint that means that you will need to know which types of stresses tend to be the most stressful;
what the psychological and emotional factors are that occur in stress situations; what happens in the body’s
glandular and muscular system in response to stress; what is known to happen to the body’s organs and organ
systems under stress, especially if disease is already present; and what are some of the biochemical aspects of
stress- especially those that are related to and influenced by diet and nutritional supplementation.

I feel that the more information you have available derived from what is known from the studies of wartime,
disasters, and stress effects the more you will be able to understand and use the preventative and remedial
recommendations that this column will offer. Some of the early columns will be devoted to the preventative aspects
of stress and survival preparation and also provide some basic information about stress effects.

These columns will include discussions of specific physical and breathing exercises that will help prepare your
physical system for the strenuousness of the retreat situation. Mental exercises that involve concentration, focus,
and controlling body responses will also be discussed. Both of these types of exercise will serve the purpose of
reducing your physiological response to stress as well as helping you to maintain a more alert state.

In order to prevent some of the detrimental physical and emotional effects of stress that occur when it is handled by
the individual alone, I will discuss setting up a support and communications system that will allow individuals and
the retreat group to deal optimally with stress. I will also recommend some preventative nutritional measures that
can be started immediately.

Later columns will deal with the issue of diagnosing and treating stress-related problems. How to rate the impact of
various kinds of stress will be an important part of this discussion as will be determining which physiological
systems are being affected and how this should be remedied. Nutritional needs that develop related to stress and the
retreat style diet will be discussed with specific recommendations for supplementation.

Finally there will be an occasional section of the column that will deal with some alternative medicine approaches
that I feel would be useful to have available in the retreat situation where conventional medical care is not available.
Standard medical treatments are covered by other columns in this newsletter as well as other publications that have
been recommended to you. The main goal of this column will be to enable you to understand and be prepared for
the problems of stress and crisis that the retreat situation will engender.
Now let us return to our story and see what we can learn from it about the effects of stress. First, we will consider
some of the events. This retreat group moved from a well-known comfortable location to a less comfortable and
less known environment. Moving for anyone at any time is always difficult and stressful even under the best of
circumstances. Even when the move is wanted and not forced by survival considerations, there are still stressful
phases involved in the process.

First, there is a loss of the old familiar home, neighborhood, and friends. This is like a death and it requires some
mourning to take place. Second, depending on how far the move is and how long it takes, there is a period of
rootlessness and transition as one travels from one location to the other. This is often accompanied by a sense of
anxiety as well as excitement about what may happen. Third, at the new location there is anxiety, disorder, and
confusion. This relates to a new dwelling and location.

The unpacking and placement of belongings often takes quite a while. Even if the unpacking goes quickly most
people experience some confusion, disorientation, and anxiety for a minimum of three months following a move. If
there are new chores to learn, new jobs to accommodate to, major renovations, or readjustments in the living
conditions to be accomplished, then this phase can go on for a considerably longer time.

We know from our own experience that dealing with a loss alone is difficult enough without having to deal with
transitions, disorder, and confusion. This combination markedly increases the stress. In addition, dealing with a
transition by itself is difficult, a common example being starting a new job where at least your home is the same.

In the average retreat all of these changes occur at one time, along with the anxiety created by traveling during a
time of crises or disorder. This retreat group stayed until the last minute (as many of you may), so that when they
left, an appropriate period of transition and saying goodbye was not available. This increased the stress of the loss
phase since many studies have shown that it is necessary to experience proper goodbyes in order to facilitate
emotional handling of losses.

When the group arrived at the retreat, at least they were at a known place. They didn’t have heavy moving and the
place was well set up. But personal belongings had to be put away and thus, even in this good situation there was
much confusion. In addition, this group, which had been living in separate homes, was now crowded together and
so new people (or family members) had to be adjusted to. They also had to organize a self-sufficient unit,
something they had not done before.

There were farm and manual chores to do which this group had not done before. A lot of cooperative effort became
necessary in a group of people who had no experience working together. There were new tasks to learn and a new
way of living to be mastered.

If you consider this group’s situation and relate it to your own life and the difficulties you have had whenever
changes similar to this have occurred, you can get a clear sense of the tremendous stress occurring in this group
even if they considered some of these changes exciting and desirable.

As is usually the case in abrupt dislocations or catastrophes, this group talked very little about what was happening
from the moment that the move became necessary. They were stunned or in mild shock, even though they were
prepared for this event.

They went about their chores automatically but did not discuss or process how they felt physically or mentally
about the sudden change in their lives. Thus they had no outlet for the stress building within them, through venting
their feelings and experiencing group support.
How stress relates to physical illness and emotional difficulties is a subject that has received considerable study.
Though earlier there were conflicting reports in this area, current research indicates, in both laboratory and human
studies, that stress situations can produce psychological and physical symptoms and may result in illness. It has
been found that certain stresses make older people more vulnerable to stress-related illness than younger people.

Similarly, younger people are affected by other stresses. Men and women also appear to be susceptible to different
stresses and not everyone develops stress-related illnesses. These factors complicate the studies, but in future
columns I will present this information in a way that I believe will be useful to you in prevention and treatment.

The group we are following had a number of stress-related events occur. Pre-existing diseases were aggravated. It is
known that one of the factors that can aggravate pre-existing diseases (especially heart disease, diabetes, arthritis,
and bowel disorders) is stress. Yet few take this factor into account (especially for the more susceptible older
person) in their retreat planning.

Multiple infections occurred. The bladder and throat infections that were developed are common in stress
situations, as are gastrointestinal disorders. Additionally, in a group of people living closely together, infections will
be easily transmitted. If the food supply is reduced or lacking in nutrients (as many storable foods are),
susceptibility increases.

Another factor is that the immune system can be altered under stress and thus “resistance” decreased. This can
allow the usual resident bacteria and viruses within us to cause an illness as a result of an upset in the balance
between them and the immune system.

This group was not using any vitamin or mineral supplements with their diet nor were people getting additional rest
to compensate for the stress. Their diet was not planned to provide for extra nutrients (such as B & C vitamins) that
would replace the stress losses.

The crying woman and the man who was staring into space in the fields were both suffering from depressions,
which is common in relocation and stress situations. Unless it is dealt with through recognizing the problem,
support, rest, and allowing the person to express the emotions underlying it, the depression will maintain or increase
in severity. This can lead to non-functionings, accidents, illness, or worse.

The man eventually injured himself and I wouldn’t doubt that this was in order to get the group’s attention and
help, since they had ignored his condition. The man who let go of the line of the scaffold almost causing serious
injury is an example of someone in a shock state. In this state the individual appears to the outside observer to be
functioning well, and yet he is functioning automatically, or “Zombie-like”, and will sooner or later cause a
problem.

Many studies have been done of “shell shock” in war, as well as of shock states in people who have survived
natural or other types of catastrophes. Commonly the shock victims describe that they functioned as automatons not
really knowing what they were doing. They ran into trouble most often at a crucial time, when stress increased, by
failing to perform properly or from emotional breakdown.

The subjects of depression and shock states are quite important for the retreat situation and I will consider
recognition, treatment, and prevention in detail in future columns. Here the group leader did not recognize a
member in shock and was almost seriously injured because of it.
The group leader himself is showing a common stress-anxiety group of symptoms and not recognizing them. The
muscle aches are also coming from chronic muscular tension, as well as from the physical work. His difficulty in
catching his breath is a typical anxiety-breathing pattern. Thus, his functioning is also impaired and his perception
and judgment are being interfered with.

This can lead to his being unable to analyze what is going on and take appropriate measures. Irritability can develop
from this as well as from the overall stress situation with more frequent arguments. This will increase the stress as it
did within the group. The preventative program I will recommend in future columns should minimize or eliminate
this type of response.

This group with its bewildered group leader had felt well prepared and yet it has run into trouble at the retreat. I
have said that stress was the major contributing factor, but why is that so? If we use a slightly modified stress scale,
which weighs life events and stress, and was prepared by Drs. Holmes and Rahe in one of the early stress studies,
we can investigate the stress occurring in this group.

The highest rated stress on this scale is the death of a spouse, which is given the value of 100. The lowest is minor
violations of the law (traffic tickets, etc.) and is valued at 11. When analyzing what this group went through, we
find they experienced the following items from the scale with their associated values: social change in terms of
social activities-18; change of residence-20; change in living conditions-25; major business readjustment or you
could consider this a change of jobs-36; major change of working hours and conditions-20; change of financial
state-38; the number of family members with a gain of family members-39; change in recreation-19.

​ his falls into a stress range where a 50% chance exists that there
When these events are totaled their value is 254​. T
will be a health problem. Another way to understand this is to note that the cumulative stress was more than twice
as much the amount of stress that an individual would undergo at the death of a spouse.

It is clear that in a time of crisis calling for going to a retreat, the stress values would be even higher than these
scales indicate, since they are derived for life changes in normal times. Thus, the psychological and physical
symptoms, as well as the chances of illness, are increased even more.

Another aspect I have found in my work (and research studies concur), is that the individual stresses affect each
family or group member even if it is not their own stress. Obviously, not every member will have each specific
stress: the children will not be changing jobs; a wife might or might not be; other family members may have some
of the above changes and not others.

However, from the point of view of a family unit or retreat group living closely together the sum total of the
stresses will affect each member. The physical and psychological problems that may result from this would further
increase the stress until almost all the group members developed some type of symptoms as happened in this group.

The amount of stress this group underwent was large and since they were not prepared, it is no wonder that they ran
into trouble at the retreat. With proper prevention and planning most of this trouble can be avoided. When some or
all does occur it can be treated. This column will help you prepare for, understand and treat these problems so you
will not also end up puzzled with your retreat group falling apart from something for which you had not prepared.
 Survival Guns Update: .223 Defensive Rifles
by Mel Tappan

The .308 (7.62 NATO) cartridge is a potent fighting round as far as most of us can hit with it and it can be accurate
to truly phenomenal ranges. It is powerful enough to take the largest game on the North American Continent, with
proper bullet placement, and it will penetrate most body armor with appropriate loads.

None of the above is true for the .223 (5.56mm) and for that reason, the NATO round is a far better choice for
survival use if you are to own but a single defensive rifle.

The .223 d​ oes have its place in survival planning, however. Like it or not, it is currently our most prominent
military round- a factor which has in the past always assured the long-term availability of ammunition and brass. It
is easy to shoot, offering good accuracy and virtually nonexistent recoil in sound weapons, making it a good choice
for youngsters, many women, and others of small stature.

It is also a fine pest and predator round when fired from one of the more accurate auto rifles or, even better, from a
good sporter such as the bolt-action Sako or the newly-available Ruger Number 3 single-shot.

Many are attracted to the cartridge because it is light and compact, simplifying storage and logistical problems.
Also, the guns made to fire it can be lightweight and conveniently sized.

This latter point would tend to make me eliminate two of the half-dozen readily available candidates from the
acceptable list, even if they didn't have other problems. These two are the HK-93 and the Valmet M-71S. In my
opinion, both are entirely too heavy and awkward for a cartridge that speaks with no more authority than the .223.
There are some additional problems, however, which I have encountered with each of these two arms, in addition to
their size and weight.

I have fired five examples of the HK-93, using perhaps 15 or 18 different magazines and I never succeeded in
getting through a full load with any one of them before a feeding problem occurred. The matter puzzles me because
the 93 is virtually an exact copy of the 91 chambered for the .308- a battle rifle completely without peer so far as
reliability is concerned, in my experience.

I fired only one example of the Valmet- a Finnish-made copy of the Russian designed AK-47. It produced 8-inch
groups at 100 yards, hardly the thing for a small caliber cartridge that must rely almost entirely upon placement for
its effect beyond 150 yards.

Eliminating these two weapons for the reasons outlined above, and because they do not fit our criteria of small
handy guns for a small handy cartridge, we are left with four possible choices, all of which we have tested quite
extensively for this article: the Colt AR-15, the Colt AR-15 with collapsible stock, often called “the shorty”, the
Armalite AR-180, and the Ruger Mini-14.

Ruger Mini-14: At 6.4 nominal pounds unloaded, the Mini-14 is the lightest rifle of the lot. It is also the least
expensive, sporting a list price of $200 and being available through a number of discount outlets for about $150. At
those prices I would rate the Ruger as a “best buy”.
There is nothing seriously wrong with the Mini-14 and there is a good deal that is favorable to be said about it. It is
very well made; quality control seems good; it functions reliably; and good examples will shoot into about two
minutes of angle from the bench. The triggers can usually stand a little improving, but at least they can be
improved, which is more than one can say about most of the stamped metal guns that provide the Mini-14’s
competition.

On the negative side, it is somewhat muzzle light and the front sight is an abomination; however, both of these
drawbacks can be eliminated by installing Garth Choate’s combination flash hider, muzzle break, and M-14 front
sight (see PS Letter No. 1 for a review).

Mossback traditionalists (like me) rejoice in the fact that the Ruger has a hardwood stock instead of some
unpronounceable plastic, but even I will reluctantly admit that wood will not take the abuse that some plastics will.

A newly-redesigned version of the Mini-14 has recently been released and, although the factory claims that it offers
better protection against dust and other foreign matter entering the action and “even greater reliability” than the
previous model (because of a slightly heavier bolt), I personally prefer the original model and I suggest that if you
select the Mini-14 for your battery, you make at least a modest attempt to find the earlier version, copies of which
may still be languishing on some dealers’ shelves.

Alternatively, you may want to wait until after the first of the year when the new model is available in stainless
steel. These new stainless carbines are in production now and although I have not the opportunity of testing one, I
am told that they will be identical in every respect -except for the steel itself- to the newly-issued series.

All of the Mini-14’s have a very strong forward bolt thrust which tends to add to their reliability as they strip a
round from the magazine and chamber it; however, this sort of vigorous feeding action demands that the bullets be
seated firmly in well-sized case necks and the case must be crimped into a bullet cannelure. Military ammunition
will normally present no problem in this regard; however, handloaders who do not heed the advice to crimp their
bullets may be in for some rude surprises.

I have had a good deal of mail regarding proper magazines for the Mini-14 and I have tried all of the aftermarket
offerings that I could lay hands on as well as each of the sizes produced by Ruger. So far, only the Ruger
factory-made magazines have performed flawlessly in my guns. Ruger markets five-, ten-, and twenty-round
versions to the public, and manufactures a 30-round model for issue only to police and military organizations.

The fact that the 30-round magazines with the Ruger trademark have not been available through regular channels
has created several thriving businesses which fabricate ersatz versions, as well as a black-market in the genuine
article. Personally, I am unimpressed by the large-capacity magazines, although the factory model does work -most
of the time- and that is more than I can say for any of the copies I have tried.

All of the “30-round banana clips” tend to make the rifle unhandy in my judgment; they change the balance and
make it impossible to fire from low prone. I’ll stick with the 20-round magazine for combat and I have a couple of
the 10’s for everyday use around the ranch.

The Colt AR-15: The heaviest, most expensive and least satisfactory model on our “acceptable” list is the standard
AR-15- a civilian version of the current US military issue rifle, the M-16. There have been some improvements in
the Colt commercial model over the years, such as chrome-lined chambers and bores, which reduce, but do not
completely eliminate, the problem of jamming when powder residue builds up in the chamber.
In my opinion, there is a basic design flaw here, centering around the use of a tube to bleed off gas directly from the
chamber to cycle the action, instead of incorporating an operating rod together with a vent farther toward the
muzzle. The design also required a rather troublesome recoil buffer and many find the “double bump and shuffle”
which it sets up on firing more than a little disconcerting in rapid fire.

There are two other design features which cause me concern with the AR-15. First, if you ease the action open
slightly to confirm that there is a round in the chamber, the gun will almost certainly not fire, because unlocking the
bolt allows the firing pin to slip out of place. Second, the charging handle which allows you to open the action will
not help you close it on a stubborn round.

The military, recognizing this latter point as a serious flaw, issue their weapons with an upper receiver which
incorporates a “forward assist” that allows some manual force to be applied in closing the bolt. Fortunately, these
upper receivers are available from a number of surplus outlets for about $25 and I urge you to install one if you
elect to use an AR-15 for any serious purpose.

And there are some cogent reasons to consider the Colt for your survival battery, despite the negatives just
mentioned. For one thing, the placement of the safety and magazine release catch is the best I have seen on any
fighting rifle, from the standpoint of quick and positive manipulation. For another, parts and military accessories
(especially bipods, bayonets, cases, and magazines) are readily and inexpensively available through numerous
surplus outlets.

Looking at the AR-15 objectively, with its molded plastic stock and forearm, its stamped metal parts, and
something less than brilliant design, it is hard to understand why -or how- Colt manages to get around $350 per
copy for them when both the Mini-14 and the AR-180 are both available for considerably less money.

Nevertheless, if I were to select an AR-15 for my survival battery, I would spend even a few dollars more and opt
for the new and much handier collapsible stock “shorty” version. It is not only more convenient, thanks to the
telescoping stock and shorter barrel, but it also points better and generally has a more solid feel. Even the ruction
caused by the recoil buffer is less noticeable.

A .22LR conversion unit said to fit both versions of the AR-15 is now on the market, made by an aftermarket
manufacturer. I have not yet been able to obtain a sample for testing, but I will report on it in this column as soon as
possible.

There are some very good magazines for the Colts available on the surplus market as well as some junk. Those
made by Colt for the military are excellent, as are the Adventureline brand and both may be had inexpensively in
issue boxes of seven (each holding 20 rounds). The lightweight 30-round Israeli-made magazines are also quite
good and they are available for less than $10 each.

Armalite AR-180: My personal choice among the .223 defensive rifles -disregarding price and exterior appearance-
is the Armalite. It is extremely reliable, very accurate, possesses excellent handling qualities, has an ambidextrous
safety, and convenient folding stock. At $300 it is not cheap, but its ruggedness and reliability are worth the price,
to me.

Armalite engineers designed both the Colt manufactured AR-15 and the AR-180 (currently being made by Sterling
Arms in England). Recognizing the flaws present in the AR-15 design, they attempted -rather successfully, I think-
to overcome them in the 180.
For example, they have incorporated an operating rod, thereby eliminating powder deposits in the chamber, and
they have eliminated the need for a recoil buffer- a factor which both increases reliability and smoothes the firing
cycle.

A spring-loaded firing pin has been employed to prevent inadvertent discharge when a round containing a sensitive
primer is chambered. And a manual charging handle with good leverage has been used so that incipient feeding or
ejection problems can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Many of the same surplus accessories available for the AR-15 will also fit the AR-180, such as bipods, bayonets,
and some magazines; however, you will be ahead of the game if you buy only steel magazines designed specifically
for the 180. They are much more rugged and have stronger magazine lips than those adapted for double duty. The
30-round Israeli nylon style made for the 180 are also good: reliable and lighter weight, if somewhat less durable.

If you go in for that sort of thing on a fighting rifle, all of the recommended models can be scoped- the AR’s more
conveniently than the Ruger, since both of them have quick-detachable, return-to-zero mounts available. Were I to
put glass sights on the Mini-14, I would use the Pachmayr “Lo-Swing” mount, even though it requires drilling and
tapping a couple of holes. Very convenient in use.

After surveying the entire field of what is available presently on the US market, we believe that the four models
described above are the best to be had. If you want a .223 for defense, I suggest that you at least look at, and
preferably fire, each of the four, then make your choice based on your reaction, tempered by our analysis.

Mountain House across the board price adjustment: Normally Mountain House only adjusts their prices in
February. However, due to the enormous increase in the price of beef, poultry, and some fruits and vegetables, they
find it necessary to make an across the board price adjustment by October 1. This means that most of their complete
line will be increased- in some cases only a few percent, but some will reach as high as 25%. Therefore, if you plan
to purchase any of these fine products you should do so before the October date.

Survival Guns now available in hardback- Since a number of customers have mentioned they have worn out more
than one paperback copy of Survival Guns, Mel has had printed a limited number in hardback. The price is $12.50
+ 1.00 UPS. If you mention you are a PS Letter subscriber, Mel will personally autograph your copy for you. To
order, send your check to Janus Press, P.0. Box 578, Rogue River, OR 97537.

Guest Commentary
Editor’s Note: Several years ago I bought a copy of Kurt Saxon’s book. ​The Poor Man’s James Bond​, a
compendium of do-it-yourself and improvised mayhem. It seemed unnecessarily enthusiastic about employing some
of the techniques and devices outlined there and it recommended -as a primary survival weapon- a pump shotgun
which hasn’t been made in 20 years and for which spare parts are almost impossible to find. Mentally, I wrote the
book and its author off. That was a mistake.

​ he Survivor​, I realized
Later, when I began to read Kurt’s brilliant editorials in monthly issues of his newsletter, T
that he was one of the most perceptive observers in the survival movement, and one of the most complex. I still
disagree with his choice of shotguns but I have come to regard his thinking as among the most stimulating to be
found in the field.
Kurt’s approach to the survival equation is different from, but complementary to, ours at PS Letter. As we
emphasize the latest techniques, the best possible equipment and careful planning to avoid the need for
improvising, insofar as possible, Kurt, on the other hand, provides plans, formulas and information -based largely
on human scale, kitchen table 19th Century technology- precisely for the occasions when improvising cannot be
avoided.

At $10.00 for 12 issues, the only reason for not subscribing to ​The Survivor is not knowing about it. Kurt’s
editorials alone are worth several times the price. (Order from Atlan Formularies, P.O. Box 438, Eureka, CA
95501.) M. T.

A Technology for Survival

by Kurt Saxon

As a subscriber to PS Letter, you don’t need to be told that our system is in trouble. However, you may be
unfamiliar with the steps leading up to major problems within many systems as well as whole civilizations. The
present and projected disasters facing world civilization are mirrored in the past.

Unfortunately, few in our population study history from the standpoint of cause and effect. Without the knowledge
of what led up to the decline of past cultures it is little wonder that even survivalists are uncertain of the causes of
our own decline. The lack of such certainty can cause a survivalist to waver under pressure from the ignorant and
thus reduce his chances to escape the fate of the ignorant.

Therefore, I want to sum up my evaluation of our situation and give some possible solutions for individuals who
must change their present lifestyles in order to better enhance their chances for a secure future.

Civilizations have been rising and failing since long before written history. General patterns of development have
applied from the most primitive to the most advanced cultures. Gatherers of roots and berries advance socially as
hunting techniques are perfected. Animals are domesticated and, if pasture is favorable locally, herdsmen then
become farmers rather than nomads. The planting of seeds is learned, providing more food for people and livestock.
Animal husbandry develops, providing even more food for even more people

The most successful at farming and animal husbandry delegate the drudgery to those who are less competent and a
propertied, managerial class evolves. This class, having more leisure time, develops, or encourages the
development of, crafts such as pottery, carpentry, and other skills which make life easier.

Every advancement in agriculture, animal husbandry, and technology has provided survival for more who would
otherwise have perished.

Classes developed as specialization became necessary. The most able and intelligent managed the lesser skilled,
and so tribes evolved into civilizations. Those least able to perform social routines were driven out and resorted to
banditry or were hired as soldiers to fight off previously expelled bandits or social losers from other societies.

Often, organized bandits would swarm over a society and their warlord would proclaim himself king. He would
then delegate titles to his lieutenants depending on the size and complexity of the respective societies.
As societies grew through better organization of the systems, surpluses also grew, providing for even more of those
less able to survive under harsher circumstances. If the technology failed to grow apace with the population,
providing employment for those unable to fend for themselves, a surplus population developed.

Such surplus bodies were useful in developing new territories, or if the nearby territory was already developed,
warfare ensued. Thus, the surplus was killed off and if the leaders were lucky, the civilization acquired more
territory whose inhabitants became slaves.

Slavery freed even more of the higher civilization’s population from responsibility, and so more soldiers were
drafted to take more territory. Those unfit for soldiering were put on the dole provided by the looting of weaker
neighbors.

While all these advances were developing, less intelligence and ability was needed by more and more of the
population. Rome degenerated to the point where there was a great leisure class of landlords, managers, and
politicians with little to do but to direct the activities of slaves.

The slaves, like our modern machines and computers, became the hands and brains of Rome, and the higher classes
actually had little knowledge of their overall system. Merit counted for little so mating was unregulated. The
feebleminded cohabited casually with the genius, as ability became less important. After all, the nation’s slaves
took over the bulk of the work and managerial functions. The original managerial class became largely occupied
with partying and show, with little actual direction of the nation’s affairs.

Of course, this same pattern applied equally to Babylon, Egypt, Greece, etc., as well as to New York City today.

As populations grew beyond the limits of local agriculture, then foreign imports were crucial. As foreign markets
were looted, their own surplus populations revolted against the looters. With less able citizens being born to send
out to put down the starving and rebellious barbarians, starving Romans rioted as starving barbarians invaded.

The above is a broad generalization and many aspects may not apply to our time or, in every case, to all past
civilizations. Suffice it to say, however, many similarities are inescapable.

Our planet now has a population of about four and a half billion, two-thirds of which are inadequately fed. Such a
population was encouraged by the needs of the Industrial Revolution in the progressive societies and the need for
hands in the backward, agriculturally-oriented countries.

But raw materials and fuels maintain the world’s industries and are fast becoming depleted or are harder to get and,
therefore, more expensive. This is leading to massive unemployment in the industrial nations.

Agriculture is in major trouble as the world’s weather patterns change, or actually revert to the normal patterns of
the last century. The basis of our present food problems is ignorance of the fact that during the 1920’s to the 1950’s,
abnormally good weather visited the planet. Not recognizing the bountiful weather as temporary, agriculturists
allowed the lower yielding but more resistant strains of plants to die out and developed weaker but more prolific
food plant strains.

Now the weather is reverting to the more normal turbulent and harsher climates which are expected to be with us
for the next few hundred years. The weaker, less cold and insect resistant strains of food plants cannot prevail for
long. Going back to the less productive, but cold and insect resistant strains will be difficult, as many have been lost
to agriculture. Moreover, their lower yields will not begin to feed the world’s still growing population.
Many believe that science will come to the rescue of a food and resource starving world population. Science is
simply the accumulation of knowledge and is no more a solution to the world’s problems than is any book of
knowledge in the hands of an illiterate. Ecosystems, alternate energy sources, and any number of scientific
breakthroughs have been laid before the world’s governments.

Applied thirty years ago, solar, wind, and other alternative energy sources would have solved today’s energy
problems In temperate weather, insect resistant, high yield plant strains developed in anticipation of today’s
weather would have been a stopgap to the present threatened world famines. Anticipation of present trade wars
thirty years ago would have held up our economies today until rival industries could adapt to the realities causing
modern trade imbalances.

Thirty years ago many people anticipated today’s problems. But they were pessimists, alarmists, and who listens to
such when times are good? Now it’s too late. Practical developments take years for overall implementation. Last
minute reconversion costs are staggering and can’t be borne by even our top industries. Moreover, thousands of
major industries worldwide are going bankrupt yearly.

The devaluation of the dollar abroad and runaway inflation here prohibit long-term investments in reconversion to
alternatives to our foundering industrial and agricultural systems.

About 55% of our population are functional illiterates. They vote only for those politicians who promise them the
fulfillment of needs best supplied by individual effort, of which they are incapable. So not only do we have an
electorate of incompetents, but we are at the mercy of their chosen representatives who are pledged to enslave us on
their behalf. Our president was elected by a majority inferior to any electorate since the Roman proletariat.

Carter’s high IQ, coupled with his fundamentalist faith in the eventual intercession of God seems to have given him
a Christ complex, whereby the trust of the people and his own good intentions will triumph over any and all ills
besetting our system. But his record so far has proven that he is no more aware of the overall situation or the
solution to society’s problems than was the last of the Caesars.

Less advanced societies grow and die, often uninfluenced by their neighbors, leaving said neighbors untouched. But
as societies merge economically and become interdependent, despite political, cultural, or racial differences, the ills
of one affect all the others.

Hence, in our century alone, we have had two world wars followed by Korea and Vietnam. Both of those last wars
influenced dozens of countries seemingly disinterested, since both began as civil wars.

Today, Africa is a tinderbox, holding raw materials necessary to the economic survival of the major powers. All
eyes are on the Mideast since the world depends directly or indirectly on its oil.

It should be plain to anyone that our world civilization, being hopelessly interdependent, is facing total collapse.
Whether or not it will go with a bang or a whimper, it will go, and soon. Within from three to five years our
economy will be in the midst of the ultimate depression. Within the next decade, world civilization will undergo a
total collapse.

But there are survivors in most calamities and unless all life is scorched from our planet’s surface, some of us will
survive. Some of those will do so through sheer luck, but their suffering may make survival a curse, rather than a
blessing. Also, being unprepared, they will probably not live long enough to contribute to the next civilization.
To simply survive will be to revert to a state of savagery genuine survivalists must avoid. The rational idea of
survival is to make the transition from our civilization to the next with as much benefit to one’s self and posterity as
preparation can insure.

Location is the most important consideration of survival. Choose a small town several miles from urban areas and
away from the main highways. Buy or lease a home with several acres of arable land. Buy weapons, ammunition,
reloading tools, shop tools, survival foods, seeds, canned goods, barter commodities, and how-to books. Buy as if
you will never see such items again. With few exceptions, after the crash, you won’t.

Preserve as much of the modern technology as you can. But remember, if an item uses more energy than your home
power plant can supply, or if it will require replacement parts later on, forget it.

My main emphasis on survival is the collection of books on 19th Century skills. The backpack mentality will lead
to the deaths of thousands of survivalists who expect the wilderness to supply their needs. On the other end of the
scale, the $100,000 survival home with its intricate commercial solar reflectors and $5,000 wind energy system will
doom its inhabitants as irreplaceable parts break or wear out.

You must reject anything you can’t build with local materials in your own shop with hand tools or those powered
by energy systems you can build. If you have nothing but money, the expensive but short-lived survival equipment
would be helpful in easing you into a more or less permanently austere lifestyle. But to buy only modern survival
conveniences will be a mistake and a waste of money better spent on simpler and more durable goods.

Ideally, you should learn a trade such as carpentry, blacksmithing, furniture making, pottery, etc. Such trades are
easier learned from material published fifty or more years ago.

19th Century trades required few if any materials the tradesman had to send out of the immediate region for. Also,
such trades insured a living from the neighbors. Say you learn to make shoes and your neighbor learns to tan hides
and another fellow has a blacksmith shop and yet another is a weaver and another grows flax and so on. You have a
community which can perpetuate itself completely independent of all outside influences.

The best attitude toward survival is simply to think of reverting to a simpler life. The best example of such a simple
life lies in 19th Century technology. That was far from primitive, yet was unaffected by foreign intrigues or the
Federal Government.

After all, if you have a skill useful to your neighbors, you will never lack the creature comforts. Also, if your
trading is mainly by barter, you will never have enough money to be taxed. Of course, when the crash comes, there
will be no government to demand taxes and any upstart posing as a tax collector can be put to work around the farm
if your generosity compels you to let the rascal live at all.

There are grim aspects to survival many people don’t want to face. The idea of the simple life makes many become
nostalgic and imagine the life of a gentleman farmer. But at first, it would be terribly hard even for those living in
rural areas now.

The further out you go, the greater adaptations you will have to make. If you are lucky you will see little of the
suffering and carnage in the urban areas as the doomed destroy each other in their own pitiful attempts to survive
yet another day.
Even so, there will be refugees from the cities. The most violent will be destroyed in battles with townsmen. The
more provident who have at least stocked campers in time to leave the doomed cities may still make it out your
way.

These will be the good people. Decent and law-abiding members of the establishment now, they are the ones who
will smile indulgently at your fears of a socio-economic collapse. Some time after you’ve moved to a safer locality
they’ll finally wake up to the fact that the warnings coming through between the lines in the newspapers and
vaguely hinted at on TV now were all too true.

They’ll leave the cities just one jump ahead of the rioters. But even though they may have a range of a couple of
hundred miles, they won’t be able to survive long once their gas supply is exhausted.

They’ll most certainly have guns and if they also have a couple of children and a wife in their van, they will present
a definite problem. These will be the most dangerous since they will intend to save their families even if it means
doing so at your expense.

So if you think you will just move to a secluded spot and escape the troubles ahead you may be mistaken. You must
plan to defend your holdings from anyone, even those you admire now as exemplary citizens.

Aside from the rigors of change, your survival may mean the beginning of a dynasty your descendants may revere
you for creating. Even more, you will see the end of the mightiest civilization in known history. What you have
seen and experienced in your lifetime will not be known again, and it's like will not come again for several
generations. You’ll be a living part of history and will get free beers wherever you go.

If you collect and pass on information and skills for the new age, you may be great and even merit a chapter in later
history books. So to the real survivalist, the coming collapse may be your chance to help to inaugurate the next step
in the evolution of human civilization. With but little education you may found colleges. With no military
background you may become a respected warlord.

But always remember, if you plan to survive, then deserve to survive. Your farsightedness makes you too important
to future generations to let anyone or anything stand in your way. If your ancestors hadn’t believed in this concept,
you wouldn’t be reading this now.

Survival Wheels
By Rick Fine

For those of you who follow new model announcements, Ford's “new” Bronco should be an item of interest. Ford’s
old Bronco design dated from the early 1960’s, so the fact that Ford elected to replace the machine with something
a bit more modern came as no surprise. However, we might all do some thinking about the decisions that led to the
creation of the new machine.

From the people I’ve talked to at Ford, my impression is that the decisions originated in the marketing department
rather than with the engineering types. Ford realized that they were losing sales to GM’s Blazer, so they created a
similar design. There’s nothing really surprising about that sort of thing until you remember that one of the current
buzzwords of the industry is “downsizing”.

The truncated pickup truck Ford now markets as the new Bronco is a reasonably good machine, but not really as
well suited to survival use -or to general off-road use- as the machine it replaced. The new truck is longer, wider,
and heavier than the older product. Instead of being a really new design, as was the original Bronco, Ford has taken
a stroll through the parts bin and created a short pickup.
When Chevrolet made the same move some years ago, Ford was quite critical because GM did not create a “real”
off-road machine. When the Blazer began to outsell the competition, Ford realized that what the public really
wanted was not an optimum light 4x4.

The fact of the matter is that most Blazers, Broncos, Jeeps, and the rest see very little off-road use, gathering the
great majority of their recorded miles on turf no rougher than supermarket parking lot. A conversation I had a few
years back summarizes what Ford spent a good deal of research money to find out: I happened to notice a
particularly garish and chrome bedazzled Blazer, complete with a desert sunset painted down both sides.

When asked where he used his truck, the owner replied that he couldn’t take it into rocky areas because his polished
alloy rims would be gouged; he could not venture into brush because the desert sunsets would be scratched; dusty
or muddy areas were out because the carpets would suffer.

Noticing the chromed gas cans, the electric winch, and other items useful only off the road, I asked the man why he
owned the truck if it could not be taken off pavement. He replied that his machine was actually a “show” truck.
When asked what “shows” he entered, the conversation became rather strained.

The point of concern for survivalists is obviously far removed from that of the mass market. The reality of the
situation is that there are far more people who want adult Tonka Toys than there are those who are ready to buy
serious off-road machines. Just as it matters little what we drive on a daily basis, it matters little that the chrome
covered Blazer “show” truck mentioned earlier would be a bad survival machine. New Rolls-Royce products,
elderly Jaguars and 50’s convertibles all are great fun to drive and own, but they obviously have no place in a
survival context.

Where the worry comes in is in the fact that the auto companies are designing new products with the chrome crowd
in mind, and very likely with concern that the Bureau of Land Management restricts access to off-road areas a bit
more each year. Accordingly, money spent to develop serious off-road machinery is less than a bright investment.

The end result is that the best equipment for survival use is increasingly of the used car lot variety. The suitability
and relative simplicity of older machines must be balanced with mechanical knowledge, as well as tools and spare
parts, as discussed in previous columns.

This concern and preference for older machines is not just a “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” put-down of
new equipment. New equipment is easier to acquire- both in terms of locating it as well as paying for it. While the
prices of new and used vehicles have increased greatly of late, financing for used machines is generally of
short-term and high interest. My advice is to assess your particular needs and buy what you feel is best; but do it
soon. Prices on even older machines are not likely to go down a bit, and new equipment is less suitable with each
model year.

Mopeds

The word “MOPED” has become a popular one in the past year or so, and the little machines -with their limitations
carefully taken into consideration- have a place in survival planning.
The first order of business is to define what a moped happens to be. Most have the following characteristics in
common:

1. Meets the legal definition of “motorized bicycle”.

2. Weighs around 100 pounds.
3. Claims 100 miles or more to the gallon; yields more like 80 with an adult rider.
4. Uses a centrifugal clutch and a single-speed transmission.
5. Displaces about 49cc.
6. Is legally restricted to less than 30 mph; 17 mph in some states.
7. Is exempt from registration and motorcycle driver's license laws in most states.

From there, the matter becomes a bit confusing, as there were at last count some 80 different brands competing in
the US market.

To get a firsthand idea of what mopeds are all about, I contacted the Fichtel and Sachs people and arranged for a
test machine. F&S is something of a latecomer in the American market, but they are among the few makers who
build their product complete, rather than selling an assemblage of vended parts. The German manufacturer has
been building motorcycles for a good many years, as well as automotive components.

After making it clear that we would report the test results accurately, the F&S people loaned us a machine with no
strings attached.

The first impression was that this little machine is just a bit too heavy to be a bicycle, no matter what the definition
says. The pedals are fine for getting up some speed to start the engine but the thought of going any distance causes
leg pains. The visual impression of most of the better machines is that of a small motorcycle, rather than that of a
bike with a motor tied on.

The original idea of the moped was that of absolute minimal motorized transportation for one person; a concept that
has only recently interested Americans. One of the first things that most everyone says when considering the moped
for survival use is to suggest that a 125cc trail bike might be a better bet.

Somehow the nature of the moped escapes most of us. The moped, as minimal transport, is designed to take you at
a moderate speed to places you need to go. It’s designed with inexperienced riders in mind who have not mastered
the skills of manipulating the clutch and gear shift of a full-size motorcycle. The price, about $500 for a good one,
is not as cheap as you might imagine, but it’s still a good deal cheaper than the tariff for a full-size machine.

A very important factor to consider is that the 125cc-250cc machines have more than enough power to literally kill
the unwary or inexperienced rider. The modern trail bike is designed to take the rider to all manner of unlikely
places he has no real need to visit, i.e. up impossibly steep grades and through sand deep enough to stop all but the
most elaborate equipment. The bigger bikes achieve their performance at the expense of increased weight, thirsty
engines, and mechanical complexity.

Mopeds obviously work best on smooth, paved road but they are by no means limited to pavement. Asians and
Europeans, who have been using mopeds for about 30 years, find that they work very well on dirt roads and
reasonable trails. During the test of the Fichtel & Sachs moped, I motored about on several construction sites, as
well as a number of desert roads.
The rougher the terrain became, the slower the bike went, but I found that I was always able to negotiate reasonable
trails at least three or four times faster than the same area could be hiked. On dirt roads in level country, a speed of
around 20 mph was no problem to maintain.

The only real problem came about primarily in the wisdom of the California legislators who restricted the
maximum speed of mopeds sold in this state. To meet the law, the F&S machine indicates 27 mph at full throttle.
My understanding is that the same machine equipped for sale in Europe will zip along at about 38 mph. The
difference does not seem important until you realize that most city traffic moves faster than 27 mph. Frankly, the
speed restriction makes the moped less safe than if the machine were allowed to speed along as fast as 49cc could
propel it.

One of my main concerns was how often the pedals would have to be brought to use to assist the engine -remember
that only one gear is available- on hills. During the first 80 miles of riding, I found that only a few very steep grades
required muscle power to supplement the engine power. On pedals alone, maximum speed was about 5 mph.

A recent article in another publication discussed mopeds from several makers and reached some curious
conclusions. The article listed areas in which the author felt that mopeds could be improved. He mentioned
transmissions with more speeds, batteries with self-starters and all manner of other gadgets which are all readily
available on machines called motorcycles. To add all these features to mopeds would simply make them too heavy
to be of any practical use, and just as expensive as a larger vehicle.

As minimal survival transport, the moped has a place as a sort of lifeboat when carried on a larger vehicle, or as a
perimeter patrol machine at an established retreat site. For those readers who are skilled in motorcycle riding -or
have the time to devote to acquiring the skills- a bigger bike might be in order. Otherwise, take a look at the moped.

After putting several hundred miles on the F&S machine, I can recommend it. You may find that you prefer another
brand, but stay away from any moped which uses a belt rather than a chain to transmit power. No matter who the
builder is, anything much more than a $550 price tag should be rejected. Be certain to drive the bike before you
select a brand and try to buy one with reasonably substantial tires. Some of the least expensive mopeds, which sell
for around $300, are not suitable for anything like survival use.

One thing you must remember is that mopeds are equipped with 2-cycle engines. Oil must be added to the gasoline
to assure lubrication. Failure to do so will mean a damaged or ruined engine. A few mopeds meter the oil into the
gasoline automatically, but most require that the lube oil be mixed with the fuel. A ratio of 50 parts gasoline to one
part oil seems to be most common. While mixing the lube sounds like a pain, calibrated measures are available at
most motorcycle parts houses and they make the task very simple.

To determine the exact mileage the F&S delivered, I filled it with one gallon of fuel and the requisite dose of oil
and drove until it ran out of gas exactly 83 miles later. When I filled it, the tank held just over one gallon.

The moped is obviously not a primary survival vehicle, but it has more application than apparent at first glance,
plus it happens to be great fun to ride. After your prime vehicle is bought, consider adding a moped.

Questions from Readers

A reader recently wrote and posed several interesting questions. The first concerned the use of high-rise intake
manifolds and tuned exhaust headers on survival vehicles used in a land-mobile situation. The reader’s impression
was that gas mileage might be increased by the use of these accessories, combined with what he called a “good”
carburetor.
The answer is that I really can’t suggest a high-rise manifold for any survival machine. The purpose of the
high-rise, when combined with a large carburetor, is to allow a large and less restricted flow of air-fuel mixture to
enter the engine, and for all cylinders to receive an equal charge.

The high-rise manifold is useful when applied to engines operated at sustained high rpm; i.e. ski boats or dragsters.
It is not likely that a survival vehicle would be operated in such a way as to make use of the characteristics of the
high-rise.

What’s needed in a land-mobile survival vehicle is not high-speed capability, but the ability to generate lots of
torque at low to moderate rpm. One side effect of most high-rise installations is ragged low-speed performance; a
trait not acceptable in a serious off-road machine. Edelbrock now produces an aftermarket intake manifold designed
for off-road use which produces more low-end torque than is produced by stock installations, although the results
are less than dramatic.

The answer on tuned exhaust headers is about the same. The advantages to be gained by installing the headers are
seldom realized except in high-speed operation when the ability of the engine to breathe freely can create more
rpm’s faster. Again, these abilities are of little importance in a survival context. From a very practical standpoint,
I’ve seen more than one aftermarket header set which interfered with engine accessories to the point that mountings
had to be changed or the original exhaust manifolds put back in place.

The most important point to consider is that a survival vehicle should be quiet. The free breathing that the headers
are designed to achieve can not be done unless the exhaust system is open- read that “noisy”. Another bad feature is
that most header installations place exhaust components closer to the ground than stock installations.

It’s very difficult for me to understand how an engine designed for high rpm, high horsepower output could save
fuel or be suitable for use in a survival machine.

At the risk of sounding flippant -and I assure you that’s not the object of the following remark- we should not look
at hot rods as mechanical examples in building survival vehicles.

A far better model would be a taxi-cab from a Mexican border town. Those cabs usually start their careers when
they are too old to be respectable in most American neighborhoods; then pile up more miles with poorer care than
most of our cars log before going to the crushers.

The Mexican cab operators have no magic going for them; they simply keep things very basic and uncomplicated.
Chevrolets from the early to mid-1960’s are the most popular current models, equipped with six-cylinder engines
and power nothing. The cab operators make less money than we do, but have to pay as much or more for parts than
we do. Just as they make use of nothing other than stock components which they can find as used parts or as
inexpensive new pieces, we should operate in the same manner.

Do not install any critical component on a survival machine which can not be readily duplicated in a wrecking yard
or from an abandoned car. Even parts as seemingly simple as a special carburetor linkage can stop you dead if they
break- and they seldom break at a convenient time.

For those of you who do your own mechanical work, stop and think of how many hours you have spent tracking
down “stock” parts to finish a job when all the stores were open, and wasted time meant only aggravation. In a
survival situation, looking for some special gadget could amount to a lot more than just a frayed temper.
 Bill’s Food Box
By Bill Pier

Freeze-Dried Meats
Although all the different methods of preserving meat for emergency use have found some advocates, the most
popular method by far is the storing of specially canned freeze-dried meats. Freeze-dried meats are excellent
choices for a number of reasons: first, there is a large interesting selection; second, because of excellent taste, good
texture, and eye appeal they are highly acceptable; third, they are easy to prepare and use; and fourth, they store for
a long period of time without danger of botulism or need for rotation.

The major disadvantage of freeze-dried meats is the high cost per pound. Let us consider this disadvantage first.
Because freeze-drying is an expensive method of food preservation, the already high cost of meats is increased
even further. The average cost per serving of freeze-dried meat is in the $1.00 to $3.00 price range.

While this seems very expensive, I feel that meats are so ingrained in our daily diet that there is no possibility of a
completely adequate storage program without including at least one serving of meat every three days. This is
minimal at best and in my experience, the most successful and acceptable programs have at least one serving of
meat per day per person.

Now that we have the bad news out of the way, let us talk about the good news.

SELECTION: Freeze-dried meats run the gamut as far as what is available. Included are beef products, pork
products, poultry, fish, and other seafood. Therefore, whatever your family’s tastes, they will find a freeze-dried
meat that they will enjoy.

ACCEPTABILITY: Freeze-dried meats are so good that in most circumstances, they can be substituted for fresh
meats without any comments or complaints. Certain items stand out, such as sausage patties, shrimp, and chicken
salad, but all freeze-dried meats, when prepared properly, are practically indistinguishable from the fresh products.

EASE OF PREPARATION: Freeze-dried meats are easy to prepare and use. Many of the products take nothing
more than boiling water to rehydrate into ready-to-serve cooked meat dishes. Even the raw products take no more
than five minutes to rehydrate and a couple of minutes of cooking to be table ready. Freeze-dried meat products are
easy additions to such plain fare as rice, wheat, beans, eggs, and other dishes.

STORAGE LIFE: The storage life of freeze-dried meats has proven to be from 6 to 10 years, depending on how
they are stored. After the cans are opened you have only 4 to 8 weeks to use up the product or rehydration, and
therefore spoilage, can take place. Since I expect you will use them only for emergencies, I feel that this is a small
disadvantage.

Suppliers

There are two major suppliers of freeze-dried meats in the United States. The best known is the Mountain House
brand from Oregon Freeze-Dried Foods. Long famous for their trail foods for backpackers, Mountain House has
also become the leader in large No. 10 containers of freeze-dried foods for home storage. Mountain House products
are uniformly excellent with high quality control, state-of-the-art packing, clear instructions, and the widest
possible variety.
The other supplier of freeze-dried meat products is Clorox of Texas. They retail under the name of Packaway
Foods. In the past, Clorox has dealt mainly with government contracts and private labeling for other companies.
Their retail or home storage business has been nil. Recently they emerged with a number of products which they
have made available in limited quantities to the public.

While we have found their packing and taste very consistent, some of their products are not as uniform in size as we
would care for them to be. This is particularly true in steaks, chops, and patties. Since a number of their other
products have some differences that we find advantageous over Mountain House products, we would highly
recommend them in certain areas which will be discussed in the item by item list that follows.

Storage Tips & Handling

In storing meats, we suggest that you store them in as cool an area as possible and although this is a universal
suggestion for all your storage products, with meats we feel this is more important than with some of the other
items. Once a can is opened, you should be sure that the plastic lid is kept on at all times and it should only be
removed for a brief period of time while you are getting out the amount of product that you need to use.

Do not let the can sit around opened for even 10 to 15 minutes. Freeze-dried meats are very hygroscopic and even
15 to 20 minutes exposure on a humid day will start the rehydration process.

When using freeze-dried meats, here are a couple of handy hints we have found that improve the quality and taste:
1. In using the precooked items that call for only soaking in boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes, I have found that I like
to heat it in a skillet for a minute or two after it has been rehydrated. The meat is thus heated through and the
amount of water in the product is reduced to keep it from becoming mushy or watery; 2. Substituting turkey for
chicken reduces the cost per serving by almost one-third and is normally not noticed by anyone and in some ways
even improves the flavor of the finished product.

Freeze-Dried Meats- The Products Available

Main Course Entrees: Mountain House produces fifteen main course entree items that include real meat. Basically,
what they have done for you is to put together main course dishes using real meat. Most of these items are not only
easy to prepare but are good eating. However, you must realize that someone has to pay for pre-mixing the products
and therefore you can expect to pay from 20 to 25% more per serving than if you bought the individual ingredients
and did your own mixing.

In an emergency situation you may find the convenience will be worth the extra cost per serving. The other
disadvantage that these products have is seasoning to a “normal” taste. While most people find them acceptable,
you may not and therefore would be ahead by making your own stews, etc. My suggestion here is to purchase the
different products in the small foil backpacking size and sample them to find out which entrees your family likes
best before making purchases of large quantities.

Diced Beef: Diced beef is available either cooked from Mountain House or as a raw product from Packaway. I tend
to prefer the raw product which is to my taste more flavorful due to the inclusion of slightly more fat. This is
especially true when using a small quantity of beef to flavor rice, stews, or casseroles. In either case, the products
are easy to use and the end product is good tasting. Cost is about $2.75 per four-ounce serving.
Sausage Patties: This is a standout product in the meat line. We have served it a number of times without telling
people that it was not fresh meat and they are amazed when we have advised them that it was freeze-dried. Sausage
patties require only boiling water and about six minutes to be table ready.

I prefer them to be fried one-half minute on each side after rehydration which gives a better taste. Sausage patties
are excellent broken up and used in omelets to add flavor to your breakfast. They can also be used as a topping for
pizza.

Chicken: Cooked diced chicken is available from Mountain House and Packaway. Mountain House uses only white
meat and it is delicious. Packaway uses white and dark meat in the same proportions as found in a whole chicken. If
you are looking for flavor, the mixed chicken seems to provide more of that, although the white meat chicken is
more acceptable to many people according to their individual preferences.

Pork chops: Pork chops from Mountain House are center cut chops without bone or fat and I find them a little dry.
The product from Packaway is called “pork slices” and they are a little more juicy and therefore a little more tasty.
However, the Packaway product is not uniform in size, and there is slightly more powder than I would prefer. The
cost per pork chop is about $1.00 each.

Ground Beef Patties: This is your basic hamburger patty. The Mountain House product is smaller and very lean.
The Packaway product is bigger with slightly more fat content. Again, I find the additional fat makes the product
more flavorful, but either product is excellent.

Patties may be crumbled up and used in tacos, stroganoff, or wherever you would use ground beef. Cost is
approximately $0.67 per patty from Mountain House and $1.00 per patty from Packaway. This is due to the
difference in size of patty and not total weight in can.

Beefsteak: Basically, we have cube steaks available from Mountain House or Packaway. The Mountain House
product is very uniform in size, texture, and taste. The Packaway beefsteak varies greatly from run to run as to
texture and taste. Once again, we have found differences in uniformity of the Packaway product. Beef steaks can be
served as a regular steak, can be sliced for stroganoff, or may be ground up for other uses. The cost is $3.00 per
steak.

Shrimp: Available from Mountain House, shrimp is the first meat product that they ever dehydrated by
freeze-drying. Although the product is excellent, unfortunately the cost per can ($48) is horrendous. However, the
$2.40 cost per ½ cup serving is in the average range and therefore you might enjoy having a can or two in your
storage.

Ham: Available only from Mountain House, ham comes in nicely uniform dices and because it is precooked it
needs only boiling water to prepare. It is excellent added to scrambled eggs or omelets. We have found that by
mincing it even smaller, you can spread out the flavor throughout whatever you arc cooking. All the ham we have
checked has been very flavorful and is well recommended. The cost is 2.15 per four-ounce serving.

Fish Steak: We were greatly impressed by the quality and flavor of the Mountain House fish steak. Each steak is
approximately 3 ½” x 3 ½” and is a flavorful cod. The product is raw, requiring rehydration and then cooking 1 ½
minutes per side to be ready. We have tried it in a fish stew and find it flavorful. Cost is about $1.80 per steak.
Tuna: Mountain House provides a good tuna which is acceptable to some, but is not to my personal taste. It is a
cooked product and I find a lot of the flavor is lost. Others have tried it and have enjoyed it very much. Therefore,
you must realize that this may be a personal choice and not universally acceptable. Cost is approximately $1.50 per
four-ounce serving.

Turkey: Mountain House turkey is a good substitute for chicken. The cost is about $1.65 per serving and the
product is precooked. You can use turkey in stews, soups, or in any recipe calling for poultry. I suggest that you
will enjoy it more if you heat it in a frying pan for about a minute or two after you have rehydrated it.

Chicken & Tuna Spreads: These products are excellent additions to your storage and are blended well for use in
sandwiches or salads. You might be able to save some money by making your own mixes from the bulk product,
but with these mixes you have the advantage of having only one can opened instead of five or six.

Since storage life is limited, a few less open cans may be important. Cost per serving is approximately $1.20 per
four-ounce serving.

After reviewing the different products available and sampling as many as you can, you then must decide exactly
what you are going to put into storage for your family. I reemphasize the need to have at least one serving of meat
per person every three days.

This would mean approximately six No. 10 cans of freeze-dried meats per person per year. To have a much more
satisfactory storage, you would need one serving per person per day and this would require approximately 18 cans
of meat per person per year.

The cost of meats is approximately $25.00 per can so you can see that meats will be a major expense in your food
storage program. This expense will be justified by the added enjoyment and lessening of strain that will accompany
the more acceptable food storage diet due to the addition of familiar meat products.