It’s essentially a portable perimeter security system that can be set up when you are camping or in a bug-out situation.

The way it works is through a broadcasted RF signal. Basically, from the center of where it is placed, it will blanket an area 400 sq. feet with an invisible RF “fence”. Anything that breaches that area will trip a loud 120db siren.

Some of you are probably thinking the same thing that crossed my mind, “won’t every small animal that comes into the camp area trip the alarm?” Well, after doing some more research from the manufacturer, it appears that the signal is broadcasted in line with and above the device. So if you raise it up a couple feet, it will allow small animals such as racoons, skunks and others to come and go underneath whereas anything bigger (bear, deer, human etc) will trip it.

Without having actually tried this product myself, I can’t speak to its effectiveness. However, there are a couple of things with it that could be potential issues, especially in a bug-out scenario:

• Limited Broadcast Area: The area that the RF signal covers is only around 400 square feet. So if you were to place the device next to your tent for example, it would only have a perimeter that is around 10 feet from any side of the tent (20 x 20 foot total).

  For this application, it seems that it would hardly be an effective early warning device since whatever threat breaches the perimeter would be practically right on top of you.

  One good thing though is the loud 120 decibel siren would definitely startle an intruder (especially an animal), perhaps giving you the needed time to reach for your weapon.

• Weight: At around 10 lbs this device may not be heavy when carried by itself, but if you were to include it in your bug-out bag — where weight and space come at a premium — it could become too cumbersome.

There are cheaper DIY (I’ll post in a future article how to make these) perimiter security systems you could set up that would have a greater range and thus give you more of a warning. I would definitely recommend making a few of these to pack in your BOBs. Here are a couple example videos from southernprepper1 and modernsurvivalonline:

On top of that, since I live in semi-rural suburbia and back in the woods a bit, my plot of land can be accessed from practically any direction. Although my long driveway is a great defensive choke point for automobiles coming up to my property, if someone is on foot there are no good choke points that would restrict their direction. This lack makes it a security nightmare.

Given this security issue, I’ve been looking into purchasing some kind of device that can provide 360 degrees of security which will act as an early-warning to potential home invaders.

If money weren’t an option I’d purchase a high-end underground fiber-optic perimeter that not only alerts me to the exact location of an intruder but would show me through infrared cameras who or what it is. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of dollars is a bit out of my price range. To keep it within budget I’m looking more into the lower hundred range.

One of the security systems that I have been looking into is a passive infrared MURS (multi-use radio service) based system made by Dakota Alert. I’ve seen this system promoted on survivalblog.com as well as other sites around the web and it seems to be getting pretty good reviews. It’s also fairly inexpensive, so it could be a great potential option for me.

Now that you know what my situation is, what I’m looking for is some thoughts from you guys on this. Perhaps one of you has a perimeter system in place that you could provide feedback on. And when I do finally make the purchase, I’ll be sure to do a review on it once it’s in place.

So if any of you have any ideas on this or experience with the MURS or similar system I’d love to hear it. You can leave a comment below the article on this blog, send me a note through my contact link, or reply to the newsletter if you’re a subscriber.

Beyond the obvious preparations of securing your home, I thought I’d share another way to keep your valuables safe — and that is by hiding them in plain sight.

Crime reports have indicated that the average time a burglar spends in the home is around 6-10 minutes. Since statistics show that most burglars are looking for high profile items (electronics, jewlery, firearms etc) and will typically look through bedroom and office drawers and closets, normal everyday items will be overlooked. You can use this to your advantage by stashing valuables “out in the open” with your own homemade stash cans.

How to Make a Homemade Stash Can

Making a stash can is a very simple process. In this example, I’m using a used aerosol paint can, but any similar can could be used. Here’s how to do it:

Items You’ll Need:

• used up aerosol or similar type can
• can opener
• ceramic block or disk magnets (or similar powerful magnet)

Putting it all Together

	Step 1: Obtain an empty can. Especially if you’re using an aerosol can, be sure that you have fully discharged all the air pressure by pressing on the nozzle until no more air comes out.
	Step 2: Remove the bottom. With a standard can opener, place the circular blade directly above the metal lip of the bottom and open as you would a normal food can.
	Step 3: Clean out can. Once you’ve completely removed the lid, be sure to clean out any remaining paint, whip cream, or whatever contents are in the can.
	Step 4: Place magnets in can. Take your magnets and place them in the bottom of the can (since the can is made from metal they will stick without the need of adhesives).
	Step 4: Place your valuables in the can.
	Step 5: Replace the bottom. Since the bottom lid is made of metal, it too will strongly adhere to the magnets. Given the strength of the magnets, you can store even heavy objects like precious metals without risk of them falling out.
	Step 6: “Hide” it out in the open. For this step, you want it to blend as best as possible with the other items around it. For example, you would not want to store a whipped-cream can amidst a bunch of paint cans. It needs to fit in with its environment.

The founders of BAM Airsoft who are both competitive ranked shooters in IPSC (pronounced “ip sic”) have developed a whole set of IPSC and IDPA style targets which have been designed specifically for practical shooting training with airsoft pistols and can be set up in the convenience of your home.

According to BAM, with a quality blow-back style airsoft pistol, airsoft training can effectively supplement actual real-gun training with some amazing results!

I know what you’re thinking. How can you train for IPSC, IDPA, or defensive handgun when airsoft pistols are only reliably accurate out to 7 yards (and that’s pushing it some cases) and the mininum target distance in IPSC and many scenario-based practical shooting training is greater than that? Well, the key has to do with perspective and sight picture.

For example a scaled-down version of a larger target will look the same in the gun’s sight picture if the larger target is placed at a specific distance further away than the smaller scaled-down version.

Given this phenomenon, BAM has developed scaled-down versions of IPSC and IDPA targets that when placed at specific distances represent what you would actually see when viewing the actual targets through the sight picture of your pistol. For a video showing how size and perspective work with these targets check out this one from BAM Airsoft (email subscribers may need to click on this link here):

The obvious major difference between airsoft and real pistol shooting is the lack of strong recoil (so sight tracking would be different). Despite this, it is still an excellent form of training that saves money, is convenient since various practical shooting courses can be set up in the comfort of your home/garage, and it’s just plane fun. And did I mention? It beats being relegated to only dull dry-firing practice.

Recommended Airsoft Pistols

If your interested in trying your hand at some home-based airsoft pistol training, here are some of the BAM Airsoft recommended airsoft pistols recommended for their accuracy and quality (BAM also sells these and can customize them according to your needs):

	Tokyo Marui HI-CAPA 5.1 Tokyo Marui is, according to BAM, the “best out of the box airsofts” available. Very accurate and with a boat load of aftermarkets available, the sky’s the limit as for however you want to trick them out.
	Tokyo Marui HI-CAPA 4.3
	KWA M1911 MKI PTP
	KWA M1911 MKIII PTP

BAM Airsoft in Action

Here are some more videos showing the BAM guys doing what they love best (again, email subscribers may not see these so be sure to click on the article):

The following article, A Primer on Situational Awareness is republished with permission of STRATFOR. (STRATFOR — officially known as Strategic Forcasting Inc. — is a private global-intelligence company that provides excellent analysis of foreign and domestic intelligence and which I highly recommend).

The world is a wonderful place, but it can also be a dangerous one. In almost every corner of the globe militants of some political persuasion are plotting terror attacks — and these attacks can happen in London or New York, not just in Peshawar or Baghdad. Meanwhile, criminals operate wherever there are people, seeking to steal, rape, kidnap or kill.

Regardless of the threat, it is very important to recognize that criminal and terrorist attacks do not materialize out of thin air. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Criminals and terrorists follow a process when planning their actions, and this process has several distinct steps. This process has traditionally been referred to as the “terrorist attack cycle,” but if one looks at the issue thoughtfully, it becomes apparent that the same steps apply to nearly all crimes. Of course, there will be more time between steps in a complex crime like a kidnapping or car bombing than there will be between steps in a simple crime such as purse-snatching or shoplifting, where the steps can be completed quite rapidly. Nevertheless, the same steps are usually followed.

People who practice situational awareness can often spot this planning process as it unfolds and then take appropriate steps to avoid the dangerous situation or prevent it from happening altogether. Because of this, situational awareness is one of the key building blocks of effective personal security — and when exercised by large numbers of people, it can also be an important facet of national security. Since situational awareness is so important, and because we discuss situational awareness so frequently in our analyses, we thought it would be helpful to discuss the subject in detail and provide a primer that can be used by people in all sorts of situations.

Foundations

First and foremost, it needs to be noted that being aware of one’s surroundings and identifying potential threats and dangerous situations is more of a mindset than a hard skill. Because of this, situational awareness is not something that can be practiced only by highly trained government agents or specialized corporate security countersurveillance teams. Indeed, it can be exercised by anyone with the will and the discipline to do so.

An important element of the proper mindset is to first recognize that threats exist. Ignorance or denial of a threat — or completely tuning out one’s surroundings while in a public place — makes a person’s chances of quickly recognizing the threat and avoiding it slim to none. This is why apathy, denial and complacency can be (and often are) deadly. A second important element is understanding the need to take responsibility for one’s own security. The resources of any government are finite and the authorities simply cannot be everywhere and cannot stop every criminal action. The same principle applies to private security at businesses or other institutions, like places of worship. Therefore, people need to look out for themselves and their neighbors.

Another important facet of this mindset is learning to trust your “gut” or intuition. Many times a person’s subconscious can notice subtle signs of danger that the conscious mind has difficulty quantifying or articulating. Many people who are victimized frequently experience such feelings of danger prior to an incident, but choose to ignore them. Even a potentially threatening person not making an immediate move — or even if the person wanders off quickly after a moment of eye contact — does not mean there was no threat.

Levels of Awareness

People typically operate on five distinct levels of awareness. There are many ways to describe these levels (“Cooper’s colors,” for example, which is a system frequently used in law enforcement and military training), but perhaps the most effective way to illustrate the differences between the levels is to compare them to the different degrees of attention we practice while driving. For our purposes here we will refer to the five levels as “tuned out;” “relaxed awareness;” “focused awareness;” “high alert” and “comatose.”

The first level, tuned out, is like when you are driving in a very familiar environment or are engrossed in thought, a daydream, a song on the radio or even by the kids fighting in the backseat. Increasingly, cell phone calls and texting are also causing people to tune out while they drive. Have you ever gotten into the car and arrived somewhere without even really thinking about your drive there? If so, then you’ve experienced being tuned out.

The second level of awareness, relaxed awareness, is like defensive driving. This is a state in which you are relaxed but you are also watching the other cars on the road and are looking well ahead for potential road hazards. If another driver looks like he may not stop at the intersection ahead, you tap your brakes to slow your car in case he does not. Defensive driving does not make you weary, and you can drive this way for a long time if you have the discipline to keep yourself at this level, but it is very easy to slip into tuned-out mode. If you are practicing defensive driving you can still enjoy the trip, look at the scenery and listen to the radio, but you cannot allow yourself to get so engrossed in those distractions that they exclude everything else. You are relaxed and enjoying your drive, but you are still watching for road hazards, maintaining a safe following distance and keeping an eye on the behavior of the drivers around you.

The next level of awareness, focused awareness, is like driving in hazardous road conditions. You need to practice this level of awareness when you are driving on icy or slushy roads — or the roads infested with potholes and erratic drivers that exist in many third-world countries. When you are driving in such an environment, you need to keep two hands on the wheel at all times and have your attention totally focused on the road and the other drivers. You don’t dare take your eyes off the road or let your attention wander. There is no time for cell phone calls or other distractions. The level of concentration required for this type of driving makes it extremely tiring and stressful. A drive that you normally would not think twice about will totally exhaust you under these conditions because it demands your prolonged and total concentration.

The fourth level of awareness is high alert. This is the level that induces an adrenaline rush, a prayer and a gasp for air all at the same time — “Watch out! There’s a deer in the road! Hit the brakes!” This also happens when that car you are watching doesn’t stop at the stop sign and pulls out right in front of you. High alert can be scary, but at this level you are still able to function. You can hit your brakes and keep your car under control. In fact, the adrenalin rush you get at this stage can sometimes even aid your reflexes. But, the human body can tolerate only short periods of high alert before becoming physically and mentally exhausted.

The last level of awareness, comatose, is what happens when you literally freeze at the wheel and cannot respond to stimuli, either because you have fallen asleep, or, at the other end of the spectrum, because you are petrified from panic. It is this panic-induced paralysis that concerns us most in relation to situational awareness. The comatose level of awareness (or perhaps more accurately, lack of awareness) is where you go into shock, your brain ceases to process information and you simply cannot react to the reality of the situation. Many times when this happens, a person can go into denial, believing that “this can’t be happening to me,” or the person can feel as though he or she is observing, rather than actually participating in, the event. Often, the passage of time will seem to grind to a halt. Crime victims frequently report experiencing this sensation and being unable to act during an unfolding crime.

Finding the Right Level

Now that we’ve discussed the different levels of awareness, let’s focus on identifying what level is ideal at a given time. The body and mind both require rest, so we have to spend several hours each day at the comatose level while asleep. When we are sitting at our homes watching a movie or reading a book, it is perfectly fine to operate in the tuned-out mode. However, some people will attempt to maintain the tuned-out mode in decidedly inappropriate environments (e.g., when they are out on the street at night in a third-world barrio), or they will maintain a mindset wherein they deny that they can be victimized by criminals. “That couldn’t happen to me, so there’s no need to watch for it.” They are tuned out.

Some people are so tuned out as they go through life that they miss even blatant signs of pending criminal activity directed specifically at them. In 1992, an American executive living in the Philippines was kidnapped by a Marxist kidnapping gang in Manila known as the “Red Scorpion Group.” When the man was debriefed following his rescue, he described in detail how the kidnappers had blocked off his car in traffic and abducted him. Then, to the surprise of the debriefing team, he said that on the day before he was abducted, the same group of guys had attempted to kidnap him at the exact same location, at the very same time of day and driving the same vehicle. The attackers had failed to adequately box his car in, however, and his driver was able to pull around the blocking vehicle and proceed to the office.

Since the executive did not consider himself to be a kidnapping target, he had just assumed that the incident the day before his abduction was “just another close call in crazy Manila traffic.” The executive and his driver had both been tuned out. Unfortunately, the executive paid for this lack of situational awareness by having to withstand an extremely traumatic kidnapping, which included almost being killed in the dramatic Philippine National Police operation that rescued him.

If you are tuned out while you are driving and something happens — say, a child runs out into the road or a car stops quickly in front of you — you will not see the problem coming. This usually means that you either do not see the hazard in time to avoid it and you hit it, or you totally panic and cannot react to it — neither is good. These reactions (or lack of reaction) occur because it is very difficult to change mental states quickly, especially when the adjustment requires moving several steps, say, from tuned out to high alert. It is like trying to shift your car directly from first gear into fifth and it shudders and stalls. Many times, when people are forced to make this mental jump and they panic (and stall), they go into shock and will actually freeze and be unable to take any action — they go comatose. This happens not only when driving but also when a criminal catches someone totally unaware and unprepared. While training does help people move up and down the alertness continuum, it is difficult for even highly trained individuals to transition from tuned out to high alert. This is why police officers, federal agents and military personnel receive so much training on situational awareness.

It is critical to stress here that situational awareness does not mean being paranoid or obsessively concerned about your security. It does not mean living with the irrational expectation that there is a dangerous criminal lurking behind every bush. In fact, people simply cannot operate in a state of focused awareness for extended periods, and high alert can be maintained only for very brief periods before exhaustion sets in. The “flight or fight” response can be very helpful if it can be controlled. When it gets out of control, however, a constant stream of adrenaline and stress is simply not healthy for the body or the mind. When people are constantly paranoid, they become mentally and physically burned out. Not only is this dangerous to physical and mental health, but security also suffers because it is very hard to be aware of your surroundings when you are a complete basket case. Therefore, operating constantly in a state of high alert is not the answer, nor is operating for prolonged periods in a state of focused alert, which can also be overly demanding and completely enervating. This is the process that results in alert fatigue. The human body was simply not designed to operate under constant stress. People (even highly skilled operators) require time to rest and recover.

Because of this, the basic level of situational awareness that should be practiced most of the time is relaxed awareness, a state of mind that can be maintained indefinitely without all the stress and fatigue associated with focused awareness or high alert. Relaxed awareness is not tiring, and it allows you to enjoy life while rewarding you with an effective level of personal security. When you are in an area where there is potential danger (which, by definition, is almost anywhere), you should go through most of your day in a state of relaxed awareness. Then if you spot something out of the ordinary that could be a potential threat, you can “dial yourself up” to a state of focused awareness and take a careful look at that potential threat (and also look for others in the area).

If the potential threat proves innocuous, or is simply a false alarm, you can dial yourself back down into relaxed awareness and continue on your merry way. If, on the other hand, you look and determine that the potential threat is a probable threat, seeing it in advance allows you to take actions to avoid it. You may never need to elevate to high alert, since you have avoided the problem at an early stage. However, once you are in a state of focused awareness you are far better prepared to handle the jump to high alert if the threat does change from potential to actual — if the three guys lurking on the corner do start coming toward you and look as if they are reaching for weapons. The chances of you going comatose are far less if you jump from focused awareness to high alert than if you are caught by surprise and “forced” to go into high alert from tuned out. An illustration of this would be the difference between a car making a sudden stop in front of a person when the driver is practicing defensive driving, compared to a car that makes a sudden stop in front of a person when the driver is sending a text message.

Of course, if you know that you must go into an area that is very dangerous, you should dial yourself up to focused awareness when you are in that area. For example, if there is a specific section of highway where a lot of improvised explosive devices detonate and ambushes occur, or if there is a part of a city that is controlled (and patrolled) by criminal gangs — and you cannot avoid these danger areas for whatever reason — it would be prudent to heighten your level of awareness when you are in those areas. An increased level of awareness is also prudent when engaging in common or everyday tasks, such as visiting an ATM or walking to the car in a dark parking lot. The seemingly trivial nature of these common tasks can make it all too easy to go on “autopilot” and thus expose yourself to threats. When the time of potential danger has passed, you can then go back to a state of relaxed awareness.

This process also demonstrates the importance of being familiar with your environment and the dangers that are present there. Such awareness allows you to avoid many threats and to be on the alert when you must venture into a dangerous area.

Clearly, few of us are living in the type of intense threat environment currently found in places like Mogadishu, Juarez or Kandahar. Nonetheless, average citizens all over the world face many different kinds of threats on a daily basis — from common thieves and assailants to criminals and mentally disturbed individuals aiming to conduct violent acts to militants wanting to carry out large-scale attacks against subways and aircraft.

Many of the steps required to conduct these attacks must be accomplished in a manner that makes the actions visible to the potential victim and outside observers. It is at these junctures that people practicing situational awareness can detect these attack steps, avoid the danger and alert the authorities. When people practice situational awareness they not only can keep themselves safer but they can also help keep others safe. And when groups of people practice situational awareness together they can help keep their schools, houses of worship, workplaces and cities safe from danger.

And as we’ve discussed many times before, as the terrorist threat continues to devolve into one almost as diffuse as the criminal threat, ordinary citizens are also becoming an increasingly important national security resource.

In this post I want to share some of the advantages of carrying a flashlight for personal protection as well as what to look out for when purchasing one. Given the many advantages, this should be a part of everyone’s EDC (every-day carry) gear.

Advantages of a Flashlight for Personal Protection

• There are No Restrictions: The great thing about flashlights is that, as of now, they are legal to carry in every state here in the U.S. as well as abroad (as far as I know). This is particularly advantageous for those living in nanny states where they’d arrest you if you were found carrying a chopstick.
  There is also no restriction on carrying a flashlight on airplanes or in other areas where handguns are commonly prohibited (such as the post office). Given the way things are going here in the U.S. however, I wouldn’t be surprised if flashlights get added to the list of restricted weapons.
• Flashlights are Discreet: Flashlights in and of themselves are very discreet. If a flashlight were to drop out of your pocket or bag in a public area, it wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. Contrast that with the reaction you’d get if your knife, or worse, handgun were to drop on the floor as your sitting in a subway car – yeah, not good. Unless you have one of those 12-inch flashlights with razor-sharp beveled tips that more resembles a medieval mace than a flashlight, then you should be good.
• Disorientation Factor: Especially at night, there is something about getting a wallop of lumens hitting you square in the eyes that can mess with your orientation. Have you ever been pulled over by a cop and have him shine his Maglite in your face? It’s disconcerting; and meant to be so. Many confrontations and potential attacks can be thwarted by simply shining a bright flashlight in your would-be-attackers eyes.
• Effective Against Animals: Animals, even more so than humans, become disoriented and confused when a bright light is shined in their eyes. When using really bright lights (100+ lumens) animals often react by running away.
• Illuminates Threat Areas: No other personal protection tool has the ability (except perhaps Night Optical Devices) to illuminate a low-light area. Since human predators like to use the advantage of the cover of darkness when lying in wait, a flashlight can remove that advantage and disrupt their attacks.
• Provides a Tactical Advantage: When coupled with other self-defense weapons, a flashlight provides a great tactical advantage. Not only does it illuminate threat areas as mentioned above, but it can blind an attacker which can disrupt aim and focus. From the attackers standpoint all they see is a wall of light and a dark silhouette behind it (that would be you). This not only masks your position but will mask any weapons you may be holding such as a knife, baton, or pistol, providing you with that tactical edge you need to come out alive.

What to Look for In a “Tactical” Flashlight

Here are my recommendations when choosing a flashlight for personal defense:

• Palm Sized: You want a light that is convenient to carry with you at all times. Your 500 lumen “mace” will do you no good if it’s under the seat of your car when you’re caught alone on a dark street.
• At Least 100 Lumens of Light Output: 100 lumens causes significant pupil constriction and a “blinding” aftershock due to momentary retina burn. It will even cause momentary blindness in daylight. This allows sufficient time for a surprise attack that will cause your attacker to think twice about continuing.
• LED Bulb Type: LED bulbs last significantly longer than incandescent and cause less battery drain.
• Rugged Housing: You want a light that is sturdy enough to stay lit even if dropped, kicked around, manhandled, or used to deliver a blow. Typically look for those made from mil-spec hard anodized (Type III) aluminum which will be very strong and very light.
• Waterproof: You want to buy a flashlight that is sealed on both ends with rubber o-ring gaskets. This will keep out water even when submerged.
• Established Brand: Flashlights, like any other tool, can break down with time. Be sure to buy one that is from an established brand and stay away from the cheap knock-offs. That way when you need replacement parts, they’re only a call away. In fact why not buy some replacement bulbs, o-rings, and batteries ahead of time. This way, you’ll have them when you need them.

Recommended Tactical Flashlights

Here are a few tactical flashlights that I highly recommend:

• SureFire E2D LED Defender
  
• Fenix TK12 R5 LED
  
• EagleTac T20C2 MarkII
  
• Olight M20S R5 Tactical Flashlight
  
• JETBeam RRT-2 Raptor
  

A Demonstration

For those not familiar with the newer LED “mini” flashlights, here’s a few pictures demonstrating the size and light-output difference between a standard 4 D-Cell MagLite and a SureFire E2D LED Defender (both with batteries at full capacity):

Size Comparison

Brightness Comparison

This was around 11pm from about 50 feet from my barn. Even though the MagLite is a bright flashlight, it doesn’t hold a candle (pun intended) to the SureFire:

4 D-Cell MagLite	SureFire E2D LED Defender

Additional Resources

• CandlePower Forums: For those interested in learning more than they ever wanted to know about flashlights, check out this forum. It’s filled with a slew of highly-knowledgeable torch junkies.
• SureFire True Stories: Here are some true first-person accounts of military personnel, LEOs and civilians who had to use their flashlights to defend themselves against attackers of both the two-legged and four-legged variety.

To rectify this, there have been a number of manufacturers that have come up with magnetic-type holsters that you can install in strategic, concealed parts of your home (or business) allowing you to place your firearm in whatever room you happen to be in at the time. Some of these magnetic holsters (like the “FAST” holster) goes for upwards of $30 a pop. Why pay this when you can make one yourself that costs around $6 and takes about 5 minutes of your time to put together? Here’s the process:

How to Make a Magnetic Holster

What You’ll Need

• 3 Ceramic Block Magnets (available at most hardware stores)
• Wood Paint Stirrer (a wooden ruler works fine too)
• 1″ diameter Shrink Tubing (available at some hardware stores or automotive stores). You’ll want about 8″ in length (this can be two pieces of commonly sold 4″ as well).

Assembling the Magnetic Holster

	Step 1: Lay out the magnets. You’ll want to place the three magnets on the paint stirrer close enough together that side-by-side they can fit within the front and rear sight (for vertical hanging).
	Step 2: Slide Shrink Tubing over Magnets and Wood: Next, slide your shrink tubing over the magnets and wood (overlap the tubing if you have two 4″ pieces) leaving about 3/4″ of tubing on either side.
	Step 3: Heat the Shrink Tubing: Now using a candle, torch, or heatgun, heat up the tubing until it completely contracts around the wood and magnets.
	Step 4: Drill Holes and Cut to Length: Using a wood drill, drill a small hole on either side of the magnets and cut off the excess wood.

That’s it! Pretty easy huh? Now just install them wherever you think appropriate in your home or business. Here’s some examples:

Some Examples on Where to Install the Magnetic Holsters

*A quick note on safety: These magnetic holsters can be installed pretty much anywhere you think is appropriate, safe, and easily accessible. If you have small children in the home, I recommend only placing your gun on one of the magnetic holsters when you are in the room (ie watching a movie, working etc.). Guns should definitely NOT be left unattended around the house attached to these types of holsters when there are little, curious hands about. Also be mindful of local laws.

In a Closet

In this picture you can see my Walther PPK can be attached to this type of holster just as easily as my Glock.

Under a Table

Storing your firearm under a coffee table or workbench makes your firearm easily accessible while you’re working or watching television. In this picture you can see it hanging in a vertical position.

Beside your Bed

It’s a good idea to keep your firearm close by while sleeping.

Video Example

Also, check out this quick video I put together showing how easy it is to grab and store a firearm with one of these holsters:

Resources

Many thanks to SafeArmsReview for the inspiration behind this idea!

At first glimpse I thought it was going to be some anti-government militia movement, but after looking into it a bit more and actually attending an event myself, I realized it’s quite the opposite. Although there is a bit of a libertarian “don’t-tread-on-me” theme (which I’m perfectly fine with btw), no present-day politics are discussed, and there is no anti-government rhetoric. In a nutshell, the Appleseed Project is a mix of marksmanship and history. It’s mission: “to teach every American about our shared heritage and history as well as traditional rifle marksmanship skills”.

Taught by a cadre of volunteer instructors (who are chosen from former Appleseed graduates), the Appleseed Project is a nationwide event that is inspired by the riflemen of the American Revolution. Back in revolutionary times, the rifleman found his ranks among common, average, every-day citizens. These were farmers and craftsman, not career soldiers. However, many of these “commoners” could shoot a man-size target out to 500 yards with iron sights, using a standard rifle, and surplus ammo. This traditional “Rifleman’s Quarter Mile”, as it was called, is what the Appleseed Project enables (without scopes using only iron sights!), with the hope that you’ll pass this skill on to future generations.

Here’s a breakdown of the two-day event:

Appleseed Event: Day 1

Day 1 began bright and early at 8:30 AM. After a cursory overview of the coming weekend, as well as a thorough discussion into range protocol and safety, we are immediately thrown on the line to begin shooting targets out to 25 meters. This they do for two reasons: one, they want to see where everyone is as far as shooting ability goes, and two, they want you to be able to see just how much you’ll improve with just two days of training.

Learning the Fundamentals

After that first humbling experience (I did horrible), they began teaching the fundamentals of shooting: Natural Point of Aim, Sight Alignment, Front-Sight Focus, Bone on Bone technique, Trigger Control, Respiratory Pause, Follow Through etc. Similar to the Military, they use a crawl-walk-run approach by teaching a few principles at a time and then allowing you to practice, at which point a few more principles are added.

Throughout the first half of the day the instructors had continued to build upon our knowledge. We were taught how to properly use a sling for shooting stability (instead of just using it to carry your rifle), how to shoot from the standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone positions, and how to transition from one position to the next. We are also taught how to sight in our rifles and apply the MOA ( Minute of Angle) standard to adjust for range.

Since my Appleseed had around 20 people, there was a good instructor-to-student ratio which allowed for a lot of personal attention and critiquing.

The Appleseed AQT

We are also introduced to Appleseed’s version of the US Army Alternate “C” course, called the AQT, with targets scaled at 25 meters. The Army Qualification Test (shown at left with a quarter on the lower left target to show how small targets are) consists of 4 stages of decreasingly-scaled silhouettes representing 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards. Here’s the course:

• 10 rounds standing, firing on a silhouette representing a man-sized target at  100 yards (for a maximum score of 50 points)
• 10 rounds transitioning from a standing to sitting or kneeling position, including a mag change, firing on two silhouettes representing man-sized targets at 200 yards (for a maximum score of 50 points)
• 10 rounds transitioning from sitting/kneeling to prone, firing on 3 silhouettes representing man-sized targets at 300 yards (for a maximum score of 50 points) and…
• 10 rounds lying prone, firing on 4 silhouettes representing man-sized targets at 400 yards for a maximum score of 100 points (at 25 meters these things are super tiny!).

The qualification is as follows:

• Unqualified: under 125
• Marksman: 125-169
• Sharpshooter: 170-209
• Expert [Rifleman]: 210 or more

This course will be what’s used to qualify as a “Rifleman” by obtaining a score of 210 out of a possible 250 points. If you do so, you’ll earn the coveted rifleman’s badge as well as an opportunity to come back as an instructor-in-training.

A Lesson in History

After that heavy diet of training and shooting, we broke for a late lunch.  We gathered as a group and as we ate one of the instructors related to us the events leading up to the American Revolution: the signal from The Old North Church, the Revere and Dawes rides that woke up the American populace, and the shots fired at Lexington and Concord.  

Although I grew up in the Boston area where this all began, I never heard these stories in the watered-down version given by the public schools here. It’s a shame since many of these stories define the sacrifice those early Americans gave and were at the heart of the events leading up to the American Revolution.

In Search of a Rifleman

After lunch we fired course after course of the AQT. As mentioned earlier, those who score a 210 or higher on the course earn the Rifleman badge. Out of all of us, only one of our group earned this award. Surprisingly it wasn’t any of the adult guys (one of them being active military). It was a 12-year old girl! What a humbling experience that was! (It made me feel a little bit better when I found out she was a competitive shooter) But hey, that’s what makes this event so great, it’s open to all, young and old, male and female.

By the end of the day many of us came quite far. As you already know, I didn’t make Rifleman. But how did I do? Well, I started the day not even qualifying (scoring an 84) and by the end of the day I made Sharpshooter with a score of 186 — still a ways off of scoring expert (Rifleman) but pleased nonetheless.

To close out the first day, the instructors covered Meriam’s Corner, “Where the Revolutionary War really began…” It was there we learned that for the first time Americans, who had no direct connection to towns that had just been invaded, attacked, and looted, opened fire on British troops in support of other American militiamen. And thus began the fight for freedom…

Appleseed Event: Day 2

Unfortunately due to family needs, I was unable to stay for Day 2. But to give you an example of what Day 2 is about, I thought I’d make a quick note here.

Day 2 begins with a quick review of what’s taught in Day 1. Questions are asked and techniques are refined. Day 2 is also where attendees graduate from the 25 yard range and move on to the long range. Depending on the range that is hosting the event this may be from 100 yards upwards of 400+ yards.

I was surprised to learn that the same principles and shooting results transfer from the 25-meter range to the longer range. If you can hit the equivalent of a man-sized target at 300 yards on the 25-meter range you can actually hit it at 300 yards on the long-range (after any necessary sight adjustment of course). And again this is all with iron sights!

Parting Thoughts

All-in-all, the Appleseed event was amazing. The instruction is top rate and for a fraction of the cost of other marksmanship courses, you not only learn how to shoot but how to shoot well. Even former military guys are very impressed with the quality of instruction saying that they did not receive that kind of training in the Army.

As far as the price goes, it can’t be beat. Women and youth (under 21) are free and since the program is run entirely by volunteers, you get passionate people and excellent instruction at only $45 if you’re attending only one day or $70 for the entire weekend.

For more information on an Appleseed in your area, be sure to check out The Appleseed Project. You won’t be dissapointed.

One of the premier night-vision technologies that the military and law enforcement use on regular basis is forward-looking infrared. This technology allows the viewer to see differences in thermal radiation that objects give off, clearly contrasting an individual or animal from its background. Since most night-vision devices (Gen I – Gen III) require some amount of ambient light to work (and will not work in the day), flir devices have a clear advantage (no pun intended  ).

Despite the obvious benefits for preparedness-minded people such as yourselves, this technology has been too expensive to make it worth while.  However times are changing. FLIR, the company which has pioneered this technology, is trying to increase its position in the civilian market. And along with this they will soon be releasing a FLIR monocular/camera called the “Scout”.

Here’s a video showing off some real time images/video produced by the Scout:

Aside from the TEOTWAWKI applications (personal security, poach hunting etc) there are quite a number of other applications (taken from the FLIR website);

• See people: Keep track of the rest of your hiking or camping party – in the darkest nights, and even when they’re obscured by light foliage.
• See animals: everything gives off heat, so animals can’t use their natural camouflage to hide from Scout. Discover those hard-to-spot animals that you’ve always wanted to see, day and night.
• Track game: – sportsmen can use Scout to track wounded animals by following their heat signatures directly, or by detecting signs they leave behind like blood trails and foot prints.
• Stay safe: – Scout’s thermal night vision technology lets you see clearly through smoke, dust, and light fog so you can stay safe in the outdoors when conditions deteriorate.
• Lightweight and rugged – Scout is rugged, fully submersible, and built to last. Weighing less than a pound-and-a-half, it won’t drag you down.
• Easy to use – direct, push-button access to all camera controls make Scout easy to use, even with gloves on
• See more, and see farther, than with other night-vision technologies because Scout sees clearly without any light whatsoever, it can see farther at night than other imaging technologies that need ambient light to work, and can see heat sources that these other cameras could never find.
• There are dozens of at-home uses for Scout as well including home security, location of heat leaks, and detection of water damage. Its ¼ x 20 tripod mounting hole and video output make it easy to mount on an ATV, pickup, or SUV.

Another interesting video explaining some of the uses for this product with some more detail in law-enforcement applications:

Conclusion

Without officially testing this, I can in no way provide a strong argument either way. But this looks like a great piece of equipment and the capabilities look amazing!

So how much for this bad-boy? For the Scout the company is quoting around $3000. Not cheap, but it beats the prices a few years back of around $10,000+. Still, I’d like to give it a bit more time to let the idea percolate inside my head.

]]> http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/night-vision-for-the-rest-of-us.htm/feed 5 http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-create-digital-emergency-documents.htm http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/blog/how-to-create-digital-emergency-documents.htm#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:47:55 +0000 Tactical Intelligence http://www.tacticalintelligence.net/?p=1098 This article is a follow up to Identity Survival: The Importance of Emergency Documents.

Storing your important information online need not be risky. Today I’ll be going into detail on how you can create secure digital copies of your important documents and where to store them online.

The Benefits of Online Storage

With the onset of the internet, people began to see the huge potential for commerce and information sharing that “cyberspace” offered. This resulted in the creation of large businesses dependent upon the internet for their livelihood.

To prevent against data loss in the event that their data center is destroyed (by natural disaster or otherwise), large companies like Google or Microsoft will build multiple data centers far away, in different ‘threat zones’. This provides a seamless disaster-recovery option to protect the integrity of data so crucial to their business.

By piggy-backing on these large businesses’ multiple data centers, you can have a cost-free storage option with practically no risk of losing your data. This of course is assuming the internet still exists (If it gets so bad that the internet dissapears, then you have a lot bigger problems than worrying about the loss of your drivers license or a medical card).

The Problem of Security

Now I know what you’re thinking. What about security? Couldn’t anyone just steal the file online and use it for their nefarious purposes? Sure, if it’s not secured. In the next section I’ll be detailing how you can create and secure your digital documents.

How to Create and Secure a Digital Emergency Document File

What You’ll Need

• a computer
• a scanner
• Bullzip (a free pdf creation program that you can download here)
• 7-Zip (a free compression/archiving program that you can download here)

Step 1: Scan Your Important Documents Into Your Computer

The first thing you’ll want to do is gather together your documents, passports, SS card etc and scan them in to your computer. Your scanning software should allow you to save them as individual images to be used in the next step.

Step 2: Convert Your Scan into a PDF File

To convert your scans into a pdf file, you’ll need to have a pdf conversion program like Bullzip. The benefit of Bullzip is that it acts as a print server — basically allowing you to open any document, webpage, or scanned image (as in our case) and “print” it into a pdf file.

Open your scanned image and print it as you would any other document. When the print form pops up select “Bullzip PDF Printer” as your printer and print.

Select 'Bullzip PDF Printer' as your printer and print

A new form will pop up. On this form you’ll want to select PDF as your format, indicate the filename/destination and click “Save”:

Select PDF as your format, indicate the filename/destination and click 'Save'

Step 3: Merge the Remaining Documents into one File

For this step you’ll repeat what you did in the last step but this time instead of saving the scanned document into a new PDF, you”ll merge it with the previous one you made in step 2.

To do this, follow step 2 again but this time when the Bullzip form comes up, select the “Merge” tab. Under the Append PDF section look up the PDF file you made in Step 2 (this will be the file you’ll merge into) then click “Save”:

Under the Append PDF section look up the PDF file you made in Step 2 (this will be the file you'll merge into) then click 'Save'

This will create a new pdf file with the two images merged. Continue steps 2 and 3 with the remaining scanned images until you are left with one PDF that contains all the images.

Step 4: Securing Your PDF

The final step is to encrypt your pdf file. To do this I would recommend using an archiving software like WinZIP or, what I’ll use in this example, 7-Zip.

After installing 7-Zip, right click your merged PDF file and select ’7-Zip’ -> ‘Add to Archive’:

select '7-Zip' -> 'Add to Archive'.

When the ‘Add to Archive’ form pops up, set your Archive format to “Zip”, enter a password, and select “AES-256″ as your encryption method:

Click “OK” to create your .zip file and delete the original pdf. You now have a secure, password protected file that can be opened with 7-zip or any other standard archiving software (WinZIP etc) provided you supply the proper password.

As a side note, AES-256 is a very secure encryption cipher that has been approved by the U.S. Government for Top Secret documents — more than enough for your personal documents.

Uploading Your Emergency Document to the Web

Now that your document has been encrypted, you are safe to transfer your .zip file to the web.

Here’s where I stress the importance of redundancy. The more locations/servers you have the file located on the less likely you would be to lose it. Here are the servers I recommend :

• Google Docs – This is one of my favorite places to create and store documents.
• Gmail – I would recommend creating a draft email and attaching the file to it. This way it won’t accidentally get deleted or buried in your mailbox.
• Hotmail (same advice as GMail)
• AOL mail (same advice as GMail)
• Windows SkyDrive – Allows up to 25 GB of data!

As mentioned above, the benefit of storing your important documents on large company storage is that you take advantage of their disaster recovery data centers.

Other Helpful Tips

Another benefit of using Bullzip is that you can always add or delete pages from your PDF file. To add, just use your Emergency Document PDF as the source file used in Step 3 above.

To remove unwanted pages from your document, just open your latest PDF file in Acrobat Reader, select Print (selecting Bullzip as your printer) and in the Page Range section specify what pages you want to print. Bullzip will then create an updated PDF file using only those pages you specify.

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