I know this isn’t exactly a gun group, but sometimes we can delve into weapons. This weekend I had two new toys to play with.

One of my toys is PSA brand trigger group for an AR. Highly recommended. Not as good as a Geissel $280 trigger which has a spring loaded trigger vs most trigger groups that the trigger connects directly to the sear. I tend to take very careful shots at longer ranges and really hate the standard trigger on most AR’s. I can feel them creep as I squeeze. The PSA trigger is https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-custom-ar-3-5-lbs-match-grade-drop-in-trigger-flat-116055.html

The other toy is a crimson trace 56mm 24x scope. First focal plane reticle, adjustments in 1/10mil. Great features, but it wouldn’t focus. At full zoom, I couldn’t quite make out 1” high numbers 100m away. I have a 50mm 24x Leupold scope and I can easily read those letters. When I back off the zoom on the crimson trace to 3x, only things about 25 yards away can be made to be in focus by messing with the parallax knob. Shouldn’t be that way. So it’s a big NO for an $800 crimson trace scope.

For the uninitiated, a 2nd focal plane vs 1st focal plane scope means the reticle stays the same size while the image zooms OR the crosshairs zoom with the image. First focal plane scopes have a reticle that zooms in sync with the image. Second focal plane scopes have a reticle that always stays the same size to your eye while the image in the scope zooms in and out. Why is this important? Because with a mil-dot scope you can measure distance to distant objects or easily establish a holdover to targets beyond your zeroed range. A mil-dot is 10cm at 100meters (3.9” at 100yards).

So if you use a 2nd focal plane scope there is ONLY one zoom power that the mil dots are calibrated. This is why I have 1” high numbers on my target backboard... I made a mark every 10cm and use those marks to figure out what zoom power my 2nd focal plane scopes calibrate at.

With first focal plane scopes, the mil-dots alway match the image size at any zoom level. The one disadvantage of the FFP scope is that when you zoom out the reticle gets so small it may be difficult to see.

Here’s an example of measuring distance with a mil dot scope. A car license plate is 12” wide. That’s 30cm. If you see a license plate on a car that is two mil dots wide, you use this formula : (30cm / 2 mil dots) x 10 = 150meters. In English units the formula is a little more difficult in your head. 12” / 2 mil dots x 27.77= 166yards. Metic is just so much easier which is why I zero all my stuff at 100meters (109 yards).

Food for thought

Basic tools for mechanical work everyone should have:

-Full socket set with ratchet both SAE and metric.

Don't buy a "kit" that claims to have everything as sizes will be skipped. Get a no skip sizing socket set, preferably impact.

Find a size that fits whatever you'll be working on, if it's big stuff get a bunch of half inch. I recommend 3/8 as a good all-rounder but you should have 1/4 drive as well.

Cheap brand sockets are actually okay but you'll want to get a somewhat decent ratchet from a brand with a good reputation with the extensions to match. Flex head ratchets are handy but revolving ratchets are by far the best.

- impact gun / power ratchet

This can be air power or electric depending on whether you have air supply or not. The advantage of air power is that you don't have to mess with batteries and the tools are usually a lot cheaper and have significant power if you crank it up. The advantages of cordless battery tools are obvious, but the grade of these depends on your intended usage. Cheap stuff works, but make sure you have extra batteries on hand as the generally suck in budget models. By far the best is big red, but it's an expensive investment.

- ratcheting wrenches

I personally would just make the investment in some decent ratcheting wrenches. These of course can be used as regular wrenches as well. You don't have to go out and buy tool truck brands, but this will be an item you'll regret buying cheap or a kit that says "complete" but skips sizes. Theyre also really nice for saving time in tight spaces.

- hammers

You're not gonna wanna cheap out on this. Chinese hammers can break and cause a safety issue, not only that but they're heavy, have a lot of shock to your hand and wrist, and suck to use. You're gonna want an engineers hammer, ball peen, and dead blow. They'll be used a lot in mechanical work so get good ones.

- torque wrench

Absolutely essential for things like ensuring proper tightness on brake calipers and suspension components. Your car will be shit and unsafe to drive without this. Another item not to cheap out on as I've personally had one break bolts because it never clicked properly.

- basic multimeter

Doesn't have to be incredibly fancy, just make sure it can test both AC and DC as well as resistance and continuity reliably

- Basic shop supplies to make life easier

Pb blaster or equivalent penetrating oil, brake cleaner, electronics part cleaner, white lithium grease, and spare top off fluids such as motor oil, brake fluid, trans fluid and power steering fluid

By no means is this a full list, but simply some basic advice to get started.

Container home. The devil is in the details. 2x3 walls inside that do NOT touch the exterior walls. You do not want thermal bridging in a metal box. https://youtu.be/tg-3dOfTeb4

I got a good deal on 9mm snake shot. Or so I thought. Turns out there is a such thing as a 9mm rimfire shot gun.

Now you might as well buy the gun for it

Everyone poops, but not everyone knows how to poop (looking at you, asia & africa). Long term encampment can be a cesspool of disease and infection if you dont know how to properly dispose of your waste. Improper waste disposal can leech in to your water supply, or come in contact with your skin. For example, before plumbing, many people died from serious disease such as e. coli, hepatitis, salmonella and simple infection. You need to remember that when living completely off grid, there is no doctor to prescribe you antibiotics, so proper sanitation is the easiest way to prevent infection all together. Read the PDFs below for the best methods of simple and effective sanitation.

This is an excellent video that explains mil-dot scopes. He does it all in yards and later in inches. You can use a mil dots scope for ranging using simple math in your head. The problem is our English units based on 3’s, 8’s and 12’s make that formula impossible to do in your head. Bite the bullet and start figuring out the size of objects in cm and meters. For example, an American license plate is 12” wide and that’s 30cm. A deer is 90cm at the shoulder. Metric makes the shooter’s life so much easier.

https://youtu.be/S5AGsHSIsVo

An excellent ballistics program for the iPhone.

Selecting a vehicle for off road needs/ shtf.

First, you must evaluate your needs. Do you need towing capability? What environment are you in? What type of off-road use will this vehicle see? What are parts availability and is this a common enough vehicle that parts can
be scavenged?

Second, evalaute what is your mechanical knowledge? This may come as a surprise but newer vehicles actually require much more extensive knowledge to fix and repair. You need specialized scan tools, expensive specialty dealer equipment, and access to dealer software to fix fragile and expensive computer modules. This affects ALL makes and models, even those hyped for "reliability".

If you anticipate encountering a lot of sand or mud, weight is a huge factor as well as equipment such as locking front and rear differentials.

On the flip side, if you anticipate encountering lots of rocks and hill climbing, solid axles, a powerful engine, low gearing, and a strong frame are A MUST.

Then there's the factor of modifications. You can whip up some nigger rigged crap and make a vehicle somewhat trailworthy.

However, hacked up modifications have it's consequences. Steering geometry was set from the factory with specific angles in mind. Affecting these (i.e. a suspension lift) without providing adequate counterbalance in the proper sections has dire consequences, which may include catastrophic suspension damage or simply a very harsh ride and lessened performance.

Before you perform any modifications to your off road vehicle, study suspension and steering geometry so you are familiar with it and know what components must be modified and replaced along with any type of suspension lift. This is not to dissuade anyone, but doing a lift properly requires a lot of money and man hours. Doing it cheaply doesn't but you will regret it.

Examples of inexpensive, simple, reliable models (that can be modified for performance)

- early 2000s Silverado/Sierra 4x4
- 1990s-early 2000s 4runner/Tacoma
- any year ford ranger (except new body style 2000 teens)
- 1990s jeep Cherokee XJ
- Suzuki vehicross (very underrated probably the best off roader ever made)
- 1989-2007 cummins 5.9 4x4 (if you need big towing)

A dear fren just had his channel device banned. You can find his backup at @campfireintel

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