More Preparation for the Obama Boom Times
March 10th, 2009How do You Like Your Squirrel?
I’m very proud of myself. I hit Costco and picked up a few survival items, and I also received some very nice Cor-Bon defensive ammunition.
It’s funny, but if you own a few guns–just a few–and you stock a reasonable amount of target and defensive ammuntion for each one, you end up with a surprising capacity to defend your property. It’s not the goal, but I suppose it’s a positive side effect.
I don’t buy large amounts of ammunition so I can hold off the police while spouting half-truths about Ruby Ridge over a megaphone. I buy them because you can pay, say, $250 for a thousand rounds all at one time, or you can pay $650 for the same ammunition, in dribs and drabs. Bulk is the way to do it.
I don’t think real survival nuts will be impressed by the things I’m buying. I just don’t believe we could have a multi-year crisis in which things like flour and running water are completely unavailable. A tremendous number of improbable things have to happen in order for us to end up in that situation. But I do think Obama is a weakling, and he is going to invite terrorism, and it’s entirely possible that a nuclear blast on our soil could cause terrible screwups that would make food hard to get for a month or so.
I got canned fish and twelve pounds of rice. I now have a total of about seventeen pounds. I wanted dried beans, but Costco doesn’t sell them. Hard to believe. I guess I’ll swing by Gordon Food Supply.
The country ham idea is a winner. I can’t think of any reason why a ham can’t be made airtight in some way, to keep it from getting hard. The paraffin idea is okay, but you would have to get the paraffin off somehow. If I knew what kind of wax they put on cheese, it would be perfect.
If I had to go two months on country ham and rice and beans, I think I’d be ahead of most people.
I should go ahead and get a good BB gun. Squirrels are just too plentiful and delicious to ignore.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Here you go, pick and choose a good one,
http://www.airgunsusa.com/
March 10th, 2009 at 4:02 PM
I highly recommend the Gamo line of air rifles, most can push the pellet out at .22lr velocities. Lower mass, but when you hit squirrels in the head, same result.
March 10th, 2009 at 4:10 PM
“The paraffin idea is okay, but you would have to get the paraffin off somehow.”
You’re talking about a big conical hunk, like in a Tom and Jerry cartoon, and coating it with a layer of paraffin? If you’re not dead-set on getting every last scrap of meat off the outside, you should be able to scrape off the layer with a dull knife, I would think.
March 10th, 2009 at 5:14 PM
“The country ham idea is a winner. I can’t think of any reason why a ham can’t be made airtight in some way, to keep it from getting hard. The paraffin idea is okay, but you would have to get the paraffin off somehow. If I knew what kind of wax they put on cheese, it would be perfect.”
When they’re made, meaty areas of the ham-to-be are coated in lard.
I’d be concerned about wax. It is almost completely moisture-proof, which doesn’t sound like a good idea. Trapping moisture in a ham and excluding air…it just doesn’t sound right.
There’s a guy named Brian Polcyn who teaches at Schoolcraft College in Michigan who is an expert in this sort of thing. You can probably email him through the school and ask what he recommends.
March 10th, 2009 at 5:22 PM
You forgot the Ramen noodles!
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Ramen noodles + tuna = cheap fat, protein and carbs in one meal. Can millions of college students be wrong? Wait, don’t answer that.
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I have a 2-3 month supply of staples on hand. Mostly canned tomatoes, pasta, dried beans, tuna, a variety of spices, dried rice and potato sides, drink mixes and the aforementioned ramen.
March 10th, 2009 at 7:35 PM
You really should post a good squirrel recipe. How about a whole series on survival foods? Dandelion con carne? Road Kill roast?
March 10th, 2009 at 7:51 PM
What Dan from Madison said. Or look at some of the RWS models.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:28 PM
To remove the parafin just let the outside of the ham freeze. Then the parafin should just knock off with a blunt instrument (like the heel of your hand) pretty easily. You can buy parafin in blocks wherever jelly making and canning supplies are sold.
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On another note, making jerky is really easy. You already have all you need with your teletubby smoker. I make it on my homemade gas grill and explosive cooking device and it turns out quite well.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:53 PM
I thought you had a .17HMR rifle. Now, THAT’s a varmint gun!
March 11th, 2009 at 9:38 AM
What about using lard or bacon grease instead of wax?
March 11th, 2009 at 11:24 AM
what if you wrapped it in cloth and then coated in wax? Might be easier to remove.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:26 AM
If I knew what kind of wax they put on cheese, it would be perfect.
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You can find it at cheese-maker suppliers…
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http://thecheesemaker.com/supplies.htm
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I’m not sure it will work with meat though (trapped moisture ~= rot?)
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On the air rifle, the RWS Model 52 seems to get good reviews. As for whether to use the HMR or the Air Rifle; there are times that you just don’t want to upset the neighbors…especially in a place like Coral Gables. Obviously you need both!
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Shoot, I’m enabling again…
March 11th, 2009 at 10:17 PM
I like to store dried foods (rice & beans) in mason jars. They’re bug proof, and last forever, even the domes. You don’t need to heat them to form the seal on dried stuff.