5 day kit replaces 72 hour kit?
700 small earthquakes hit Utah every year and smart residents are continually preparing for "the big one." With major earthquakes hitting Haiti, Chili, Baja, and Indonesia in the last couple of months, earthquake experts in Utah have changed their recommendation from 72 hour kits to 5 day kits. Why? They're being realistic about both local and national relief agencies not being able to respond quickly due to ever tightening budgets.
This doesn't just apply to Utah. Budgets for first responders are shrinking around the country and if you don't already have a few basic 72 hour kits cached in various locations (each floor of your house, each car, office, etc.) now would be a good time to do so...and beef them up with a few thousand extra calories, more meds, and more water and/or purification tools.
CHEAP collapsible airsoft target frame
As I mentioned last week, I love training with airsoft. It allows me to get a LOT more trigger time than I could afford if shooting lead was my only option, and it allows me to train scenarios that I can't do on my local ranges.
One problem with airsoft is that normal airsoft targets are small and incapable of taking repeated hits from quality airsoft guns.
I've solved this problem by making my own target frame/backstop for under $30 and using full size (2'x4') targets. Granted, this isn't original OR rocket science, but it is a great solution for airsoft training.
To see images, please go to the web edition of the newsletter at: http://secretsofurbansurvival.com/content.php?140-Is-Economic-Collapse-Inevitable basically, I made the target frame out of 2 10 foot sections of 1 1/2" PVC pipe. The 4 vertical sections are 3' long, the 2 horizontal cross pieces are 2' long, and the 4 legs are 1' long, for a total of 20' of pipe with absolutely no waste. I connected all the pieces with 2 elbows and 4 Ts and capped the legs with 4 caps. All of the PVC parts cost me about $20.
Home Depot will let you cut PVC in the store with their saws, so you don't even need to buy a saw.
There's enough friction on the fittings to keep everything together, and it's easy to break everything down as much as you want for storage.
As a bonus, 2' and 3' sections of PVC make great improvised weapons : )
For the backdrop, I started out with a $7 tarp folded and draped over the top. It was louder than I liked, so I threw a $7 moving blanket from UHaul over it. It's absorbed thousands of focused hits so far without giving out, but when it starts to, all I need to do is slide the blanket up or down so my impact area is different.
When I tri-fold the moving blanket I have, it is just slightly narrower than my target and two clothespins are all that I need to secure targets in place.
I keep a box underneath the target/blanket and it catches 90-95% of the airsoft BBs, making cleanup a breeze.
Of course, you could also accomplish the same thing by draping a blanket over a door at the end of a hallway or over a doorway chin-up bar, but the PVC frame will allow you to practice entering a room and engaging a target, engaging the target behind partial cover, or hundreds of other scenarios that most people don't have the facilities to practice regularly.
Bug Out Bags
One of our staff writers, Henre' Neville, wrote a very practical article on Bug Out Bags that you'll want to read. He covers some very practical experience, real life consequences of not having pre-stocked/positioned Bug-Out-Bags, and some ideas of what to put in yours. You can read the whole article here: http://secretsofurbansurvival.com/entry.php?22
What's the difference between a Bug Out Bag and a 72 hour kit? I went over both, as well as the MAJOR differences in a one hour interview I did awhile back, but basically a 72 hour kit gives you 72 hours to get to your home, a cache, or to establish a short/long term food/water supply. A bug out bag, on the other hand, is for when you have to evacuate your primary shelter (home) for an undetermined amount of time. It will contain more legal documentation, money, medications, and other personal items.
That's it for this week. Try to make a point of making daily progress on your Urban Survival/Preparedness/Self-Reliance journey this week, with an emphasis on "doing" and "practicing" rather than simply reading/learning.
With most survival books/websites, people read a lot and agree that it's all important, but rarely implement more than one or two things because of information overload.
That's one of the reasons why the SurviveInPlace.com Urban Survival Course focuses so much on action. It is broken up into weekly bite-sized chunks that you're encouraged to take action on. It includes both announced and unannounced bonuses, an ever increasing number of audio lessons, AND students have the option to receive my book, "Urban Survival Guide" or additional lessons at the end of the course. To read the course description, go here: SurviveInPlace.com
Comments or questions? Fire away by commenting here:
http://secretsofurbansurvival.com/content.php?140-Is-Economic-Collapse-Inevitable
Take care, and stay safe!
David Morris
UrbanSurvivalGuide.com/SurviveInPlace.com
UrbanSurvivalPlayingCards.com
SecretsOfUrbanSurvival.com
Urban Survival
2274 S 1300 E #G15-192
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
United States
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