LA Police Gear for Survival Kit

Just want to make readers aware of another source of survival and tactical gear to add to their research lists when considering spending those hard won dollars towards survival preparation for the collapse.

LA Police Gear offers a wide range of kit ranging from medical items to holsters to gear bags to flashlights and many other items at reasonable prices.

Some of the companies that are distributed through LA Police Gear include: 5.11 tactical series; Adventure Medical Kits; Quik Clot Trauma Paks; Surefire Flashlights; Hazard 4; Blackhawk Tactical; Hatch; Maxpedition; Galco Holsters; Streamlight Flashlights; Camel Bak; Converse; Under Armour; Magnum; Wise; and about another 150+ manufacturers.

LA Police Gear also hosts a blog, LA Police Gear Blog, that highlights different pieces of kit. Probably a good idea to bookmark this link to their blog and peruse it from time to time to see if you can pickup tips on good survival gear, as well as compare prices to other vendors.

M1 Garand Suitable as a Primary Survival Weapon?

Received the following on e-mail from William who wrote ”UrbanMan, appreciate all the info man, and having a hard time deciding what gun to base my SHTF needs on. Don’t have a lot of money but don’t want to depend on my 7mm Mag in a firefight. What do you think about the M1? Good enough? I think I can talk my brother into buying one too then we can have the same ammunition. He now has a 30-06.”

UrbanMan replies: William, the short answer is "yes", but I am assuming that you are not basing all your SHTF preparations just on guns. While it is necessary to own firearms, several in fact, for security and protection as well as sufficient stock of ammunition, it is also necessary for the well prepared survivor should be looking at all categories of survival: food, shelter, water. Procuring the necessary gear and equipment as well to allow one to survive a collapse with the infrastructure gone....no grocery stores, no electricity, no running city water, etc.

But back to the M1. Assume you mean the venerable M1 Garand in .30-06 caliber. Great gun! Accurate and reliable. These two traits go along way in making up the lack of extended firepower – that’s capability to load fast and carry a lot of ammunition. Now there will be some readers who’ll write that they can re-load an M-1 Garand as fast as I can an M-4. Not true, but even if it was, reloading after every 8th round is certainly not as convenient as using 30 round magazines! Before I lose the M1 lovers, one could certainly do 1,000 times worse than the Grand.

If your brother already has a .30-06 rifle, and I am assuming some type of bolt action or pump, either with a five round magazine capacity, then the procurement of M1 Garand’s to base your primary survival weapon on make even go over easier on him. Just make sure you get a bunch of 8 round clips.

You do state that you don’t have much money. Did you know that you’ll pay over $600 minimally for a beat up M-1? The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) offers M1 Garands for sale to qualified buyers,…you must be a member of a CMP affiliated shooting club. This would cost a minimal fee for an annual membership if you have one close to you.

This is what the CMP say’s about their M1 Garands for sale,....

"In my opinion, the M1 rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised" - General George S. Patton, Jr.

John Garand's rifle was the single most significant small arms development in the history of modern warfare. No other rifle in this nation's history so outclassed that of its adversaries. The accuracy, reliability, ruggedness and most of all, its firepower, could not be matched by any of the Axis powers during WWII. It performed with distinction throughout WWII to Korea and to the early days in Vietnam . The popularity of the M1 Garand continues to grow as hundreds of new Garand "Fun" Matches are being held all over the USA each year.

In the past ten years, the M1 Garand, regardless of condition, has become a very hot collectors’ item and sound financial investment. The popularity of the M1 Garand continues to grow as hundreds of new Garand “Fun” Matches are being held all across the USA each year.

Over the past 65 years, most M1 rifles have been arsenal rebuilt, refinished, rebarreled or repaired at least once and often several times. Most will show signs of service (often considerable) and replacement of various parts. They are seldom encountered with all original parts and original finish as delivered from the manufacturer. Such "original" rifles, even in well-used condition, are highly prized by collectors.

Each M1 Garand rifle sold by CMP is an authentic U.S. Government rifle that has been inspected, headspaced, repaired if necessary and test fired for function. Each rifle is shipped with safety manual, one eight-round clip and chamber safety flag. Orders are filled on a first-come first serve basis. Rifles of all grades are packed for shipment purely by "luck of the draw". Prices are subject to change. If price has changed after an order has been received, customers will be notified before new prices are charged. Shipping and Handling is $24.95 per rifle.

Greece on the Verge of Economic Collapse

One of the reasons many people are predicting a economic collapse that will plunge is that there is basically no formula or path that can bring the U.S. back to a stable economic footing - that's the argument anyway and the reason is that if the Government continue spending and borrowing the way they have,.....over $5 trillion in debt added in the past three years,..... then eventually inflation and probably hyper inflation will occur. The inflation I'm talking about here is where the value of the dollar declines significantly, reducing the purchasing power of American families.

The alternative to spending and borrowing of course is to cut the spending and therefore the need to borrow,....still leaves us with a bunch of debt to pay off,...but the austerity measures necessary to get a rein over the spiraling debt would cause the economy to contract; less money for investments and a decrease in products being manufactured - a general lowering of the GDP and again, economic chaos. This time inflation will be where the goods and commodities are priced too high due to unavailability, or simply because they can go to the highest bidder.

We are seeing in Greece much of what is predicted to occur here in the United States. Greek workers going on strike against austerity measures. Ships sitting at docks not being unloaded; public transport sitting idle. Greece is fairly close to anarchy and the Greece government still needs to bring about additional austerity programs, including cutting outrageous retirement plans, benefits and entitlements programs to even begin convincing the rest of Europe to help with a type of a financial bailout of that country.

The European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that the Greek deal, which barely had enough support to pass, did not go far enough and time is running out to avoid a Greek default.

The EU and IMF are exasperated by a series of broken promises by Athens and weeks of disagreement over the terms of a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout, with time running out to avoid a default.

Greeks, who have been suffering from years of recession, are very angry about the measures. Protestors routinely congregate and shout,...."No to layoffs! No to salary cuts! No to pension cuts! Do not bow your heads! Resist!"

In addition to the striking dock workers and transportation workers, Hospital doctors, Bank employees and Teachers are all reportedly soon to join the anti-austerity measure protests.

Officials hammered home the message that Greece's future in the euro was at stake.
"The consequences of disorderly default would be incalculable for the country - not just for the economy ... it will lead us onto an unknown, dangerous path," Deputy Finance Minister Filippos Sachinidis said. In an interview with the newspaper Imerisia, he described the catastrophe he believes Greece would suffer if it failed to meet debt repayments of 14.5 billion euros due on March 20. "Let's just ask ourselves what it would mean for the country to lose its banking system, to be cut off from imports of raw materials, pharmaceuticals, fuel, basic foodstuffs and technology," he said.

I am probably way too dumb to figure out all the nuances with the coming economic collapse in Greece and subsequent threats to other EU nations like Italy, Spain and Portugal but whatever happens there would serve as a baseline model for what could transpire here in the U.S.

I wrote the above several days before I posted it.  What has transpired in the last few days is substantial rioting in Greece over austerity measures and inflation of the currency.  Images of police in riot control gear, contact fire bombs hitting the streets and violence targeted against the police and the government are all over the television and internet.  There are reports of people selling their gold jewelry in order to buy food.... .....however food is getting harder to find.  Soup kitchens are springing up in the more populated areas. 

Stay tuned for a worsening situation.  If you think this cannot happen here in the U.S. then you are sadly mistaken.  Last night on television and yesterday on the radio, Glenn Beck was predicting the same situation in the U.S. by the end of Summer.  Get prepared, Stay Prepared. 

Wealth From the Ground

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com has mentioned several times about it being a good idea to become a recipient of the Martenson Newsletters as Chris Martenson publishes newsletters and links to information of value to Survivalists and indicators of the coming collapse.

In one of his latest newsletters, Martenson post’s an article written by James Dines, titled “Owning 'Wealth In The Ground' Is Your Best Bet to Surviving the Coming 'Supernova of Inflations”. Although I have never heard of James Dines, apparently his record of making good calls is pretty strong.

Go here to read the whole article.


Dines made some pretty good comments, among them he sees the excessive credit in the financial system as having placed the global economy on a collision-course with hyperinflation. And of course we know that is true. 15+ Trillion dollar debt by the U.S. Government and really now way to fix it. Too much of an austerity program will induce a collapse as well continued spending. We have fenced ourselves in. And before some of hurl electronic bullets at me, the “we” I’m talking about is America and our elected politicians.....not “we” as Survivalists.

The rapidly increasing demand, increasing prices and shrinking supply of oil may be the catalyst. Dines predicts that at some point, when the military grasps the declining supply, they will seize the remaining supplies and you will not be able to drive your car until the last drop.

Dines states that the price of gold and silver did not go up. It is the fiat currency value that went down. Gold and silver are the ultimate money, coins of which are good anywhere in the world, no matter what is stamped on them, and that is the money. Gold (and Silver) are the only investible asset in the world that has gone up the last 11 years without interruption, and that is because they are just running the printing presses. The more they do, the more value builds into gold and silver. If a Survivalist does not have any precious metals then they run the risk of having a hole, large or small, in the plan.....plain and simple.

The point of the Wealth in the Ground article is about the only assets that would survive an economic collapse and the chaos that went with it is hard assets. Hard assets, in part being, being physical commodities, mining companies, gold and silver. When I first read the title and linked to it, I thought I would find someone advocating Wealth in the Ground” to mean,…a safe and secure survival site; a full time, year round water supply; ability to grow crops to sustain your survival family;......but Dines did not touch n that, but it is a logical extension of the wealth in the ground argument.

Anyway, a good article to read in it’s entirety and the Martenson newsletter at the very least motivates you to prep harder. He is one of many sources I tune to almost each and every day,…sometimes spending 2 or 3 minutes looking for something of interest,…and sometimes spending 20 minutes or more reading something where I’ll think,…”that’s a good point”.