Ammunition Reloading a Necessary Survival Skill?

 Justin wrote to us to ask" "I have a nine millimeter handgun, a 38 special revolver and a 30-06 deer rifle with a scope as my SHTF weapons. I realize that this is not really adequate but I can't afford anything else right now. My questions are - How much ammunition for each would you consider a adequate ammo stockpile? I have a hard time finding ammunition and in the crunch I think it will be harder to find so should I learn to reload? Looking around it appears that I can start reloading my own ammunition for the guns I have for about a $100. Sincerely Justin."  

UrbanMan's reply: Justin, I know where you are coming from. I visited Wal-Mart a couple days ago and the only center fire ammunition they had on hand was 4 boxes of 6.8mm SPC and several boxes of .270. Knowing how to reload ammunition is a good skill. It requires tools, material and above all knowledge. I'll address these things first, then talk about where this skill fits in the survivalist's preparation for the collapse arsenal.

The basic reloading process is using a series of dies to re-move the spent primer and re-size the case; bell or expand the case mouth (to accept a bullet); seat a new primer; place a powder charge in the case; then seat and crimp a new bullet.

Reloading tools: These range from Lyman 310 hand tools and dies (around $120) - think of a pair of pliers with a die that will do one of the reloading functions a single case at a time. Another hand tool would be the Lee Loader (around $50) - this is what I first learned on. You will need a plastic mallet for the Lee Loader.

Both of these hand tools are compact and very useable. There are many videos on You Tube showing the basic process. A handy tool to have with any of these hand tools is an auto-primer tool where you can prime around 20 empty cases a minute.  The picture at left is the Lyman 310 hand tool and a set of dies. 

Buffalo Arms has Lyman 310 tools, visit them here.



You can step up to a single stage press that also does one case at a time albeit faster for around $225 counting a set of dies. The Daddy of re-loading is the progressive press with a turret that moves around with each pull of the lever and does all the functions - you just insert an empty case, pull the lever, ensure you have powder, primers and bullets filled up in their respective hoppers.

I don't think anyone makes them better than Dillon Precision. I own two of their smaller presses. You can pay anywhere from $300 to $2,000 for their re-loading presses. The picture at right is the basic Dillon Press.  Agfain all good equipment and Dillon offers much more on their website, including a subscription to their monthly catalog/newsletter.

Visit their website here - Dillon Precision.

There are a host of "make life easier" accessories for reloading. You could spend several hundred dollars on these if you were so inclined - things like powder scales, case trimmers, primer pocket cleaners, tumblers to clean brass, lube pads, etc.

Reloading Material: You need primers, powder and bullets to reload ammunition. This makes you dependent upon some manufacturer, distribution network and vendor. I have not reloaded any ammunition for years now, but my friends that still do tell me that reloading supplies are hard to come by. Storage of re-loading components is a little bit stricter than manufactured ammunition. Reloading components will be much harder to come by after a collapse and then you may not be bartering for material that has been stored correctly. It make be rotten like the jar of mayo in your Grandma's frig.

Sure you can learn how to make your own primer mix, powder mix and cast your own bullets, but I'd rather sit on a pungi stick than do this. And the results, meaning the ammunition - not the pungi stick,.... are probably going to be less than adequate.

Knowledge. The reloading learning curve is straight up. The more you reload the more problems you'll be exposed to and the more you will learn.  I think it is easy to teach someone how to reload on a basic tool and make them safe about. One of the biggest risks is the wrong measurement of powder. This is where scales come in and you would need a reloading book that lists the caliber, bullet weight and powder you are going to be using. Again, YouTube publishes many re-loading videos for your understanding and training. I would begin here to see the process.  

How Much Ammunition to Stockpile? Short answer is as much as you need and as much as you can afford. Sorry I can't give you answer based on numbers, but I will say that for my "obsolete or non-main rifles", such as .30-40 Krag, .30-30's, .30 carbine, and several others, I have between 300 to 1,200 rounds put away.  If you can buy one box, 20 rounds, of .30-06 each paycheck, then you may minimize the pain and soon have a good stockpile.

For your main "battle rifle or carbine" I would start at well over a thousand rounds. However, your .30-06 deer rifle, while a great caliber is not a battle rifle. I would highly consider a magazine fed rifle or carbine,....AR-15/M-16/M-4 family, AK or SKS series - something like this. 

Bottom Line. Yes, I think reloading is worth learning and having some hand tools to do so. But it would be behind other priorities of having adequate SHTF firearms, stocked ammunition, food, water, necessary survival gear and a host of other things.

Thanks for your question Justin - it was a good one. Be safe and prepare well.

The Threat of Prisons to Survivalists

There are about 2.4 million people in prison at any given time. This is 5 times the number in our standing Army or about 30 times the number of uniformed Federal Law Enforcement Officers. In the event of a large scale collapse does anyone think that the corrections officers, as good and dedicated as they may be, will stand their posts while the infrastructure collapses around them??




Without guards around to keep order and surveillance on prisoners, inmates left to their own devices and powered by the need to survive will, on a large scale, defeat mechanical locks and barriers and access the outside world.

With any collapse of the electrical grid, which powers most prison locks and access systems, obstacles to prisoners freedom will largely cease to work making it much, much easier for inamtes to escape.  

This threat of prisons suddenly dispersing their inmates and the supporting network of gangs is a discussion I recently had with friends of mine located about half way across the country. We discussed counter-measures include the following:

1. Know where the nearest prisons (and jails) are. Not just within a 20 miles radius but a much larger radius say 500 miles or even more depending upon the other factors. Know what type of prisoners these facilities hold,...white collar criminals, hard core felons, federal high value criminals, etc. This is important because understanding the potential threat helps prepare you.

2. Are there natural routes or lines of communication such as interstate highway, state highways, farm to market roads, and/or other natural channelization which would drive escaping inmates to your area? You should have already did a terrain analysis on potential refugee routes - this is same type of study.

3. Depending upon the stage of the collapse upon the prisoner release/escape and the amount of news they have received relating to the economic conditions, security situation and depth of the collapse, a percentage of the inmates may not be driven into the larger population centers. I wouldn't. Would you? Wouldn't you look for safer suburbs or rural areas where the ratio of law enforcement is much less and the potential rivalry for food and other material is less?

4. I have written before about the potential danger from organized gangs - because of their organized structure and greater chance,....... much greater chance of having absolutely no hesitation to kill. Some of these inmates will naturally bind together as well. Some are already organized in prison as gangs, be it the Mexican Mafia, White Supremists,Neo-Nazis or Black militants. They won't be so well equipped, weapons wise, but that would be overcome with a half day on the outside. Transportation as well would not be an issue - they wil simply kill those weaker than themselves for anything they want.

Again, you cannot talk about inmates in prisons without talking about street gangs.  Each state should be producing a yearly Gang report.  You may want to see if you can locate one on the web.  The stats will amaze you, and should probably scare you as well.

Perhaps California and Texas have the largest gang and prison populations.  I could not get California's data before I wanted to post this, but the statistics from Texas are that more than 50% of the prison population are serving a sentence for a violent crime:  including homicide - 14%; robbery - 25%; and, assault - 12%.

The four biggest violent gangs number almost 25,000 in Texas.  These are the scum bags counted as full time gang bangers, AND the number of gang bangers in the more than 2,000 gangs in this state number more than 100,000.

According to a organized crime investigator buddy of mine, each gang has some sort of association with the violent Mexican Drug Cartels.  The cartels partner with and utilize U.S. based street gangs because of their citizenship status and knowledge of local, state and federal law enforcement personnel and tactics. 

You can count on the street gangs with their level of organization, weaponry and odd familal type loyalty will certainly assist in breaking their members out of prison if/when the collapse drives the institutional security away.  Be prepared.

Can Preppers Trust the Government?

Note: I wrote the below from an article by Bernie Suarez before the news came out on the current administration's use of the IRS to target Tea Party and other conservative groups. It remains to be discovered just how high in the governmental chain of command that that the IRS targeting order came from.  Additionally, since I initially wrote the below there was a mass shooting in New Orleans, albeit of a suspected gang related type and not necessarily a terrorist, home grown or not.  Some remarked to me that they suspect some type of government engineered shooting or bombing in the near future which would give the government the popular support necessary to crack down on gun owners and that means preppers.  I hope to God this never happens but it seems my faith in government is declining on a daily basis.  I have had that faith in the scores of loyal government workers that work the machinery and not the politicians or the political appointed, but sometimes it seems like the politicians are winning.         

The article below, an amazingly good read published with the title "The Art of Catching Government False Flags in Real Time", by Bernie Suarez and posted on the International Forecaster is really all about Government trust to do the right thing. Just like individual people, high ranking government elected or appointed people can easily fall into the trap of doing unethical or illegal things justified by the end result.


I am not really into Government conspiracies, and it is not a conspiracy if it is an overt act by the Government like moving towards more gun control, however I have seen enough to know, to absolutely know, that innocent people can be caught up, either intentionally or unintentionally, by a government agency. 

What this means to preppers is a planned event by the government, or elements in the government, to effect an agenda that is based on control,...controlling the population, the wealth, and/or firearms. This is a good article, I hope everyone takes the time to read it.

The Art of Catching Government False Flags in Real Time

With the topic of government false-flag operations being discussed throughout the country with the recent slow but progressive mass awakening to such events occurring in America it seems like good timing to ruminate on the issue and discuss just how the average person can develop the skills required to skillfully predict and catch government false-flag attacks in real-time and awaken others around you to these events and the political motives behind them.

I use the word ‘art’ because I believe being right about such high-level events deserves attention for the cognitive and intellectual skills required and the ‘delivery of truth’ skills required to share these truths with receptive (intellectually honest) members of society. Truth is always vindicated and victory goes to the opponent that is willing to deal with ALL the facts openly and transparently, as truth seekers in the information war have done for a very long time in America. The establishment government, however, always plays the same hand with these events. Today these longstanding similarities that follow false-flag operations have naturally rendered some clear patterns to recognize for those of us seeking truth.

Step 1 – Clear your mind

The art of catching government false-flags in real time begins with altering your belief system to disconnect your mind from the influence the mainstream media has on it. This ‘connection’ is very real, and understanding how important it is to disconnect your mind from mainstream media lies cannot be understated. Many Hollywood movies and almost all TV shows play a huge roll in reinforcing the government narrative, as does the public school curriculum, so you will also have to be aware of the connection between these as well. However, since the mainstream media breaking news story of the next false-flag attack is the very thing you’ll be judging, it is paramount to distance oneself from this entity. This is the most important step that will make catching your first realtime false-flag very easy.

Armed with a clear mind and now thinking on your own, considering all logic and reason, you are now prepared to clearly see your first false-flag event. Your mind is prepared to see what is right in front of you now that you have removed the signal that was blurring your understanding. A free person with a clear mind free of government engineered propaganda and marketing is a powerful tool with potential that is unlimited. The magic of living in a world where a controlled media and government does not even play a role in your life and your thinking process is a magic you cannot imagine until you cross that bridge. With that said let’s explore the next step.

Step 2 - Understand the stakes at hand

Are you aware of the stakes at hand? Consider history and what the end result of too much government control really means. Consider what freedom for humanity really means and those who have given their lives for these beliefs in the past. Apply the process of critical thinking to these ideas and see what you discover. First, approach the process of thinking with the purpose of being the best. Exercise what I call Intellectual Karate. Realize that you are about to go into an arena where the battle is for reason, truth, justice, logic, wisdom and cognitive conquering. Think for a minute, if man-kind is truly the superior animal on the planet because of its cognitive abilities and its abilities to apply a form of higher brain intelligence that allows us to conquer all other animals, then shouldn’t we care which form of mankind-thinking (meaning which paradigm) will ultimately control the destiny of the species?

This I believe is the core meaning of the information war we fight; a competitive battle of cognitive expressions of truth versus lies, each side representing a specific agenda -- that being selfishness versus altruism, or personal greed and thirst for power versus selfless concern for the future experience of humans. I believe that this war is possibly spiritual and it (this battle of consciousness) defines who we are as a whole and will determine where humanity is headed.

Step 3 - Arm your mind with facts and reason

We owe it to ourselves to research history and see how governments have used false-flag operations for political gain in the past. The fact of the matter is that false-flag operations have been a commonly used tactic of past governments to justify an attack on an enemy. See and understand the logic that makes planned attacks on a selected enemy nearly impossible without an engineered and carefully timed false-flag attack. Become aware that false-flag operations and tactics that incite the enemy are officially part of military strategy. Realize that documented U.S. government plans for false-flags date back at least 50 years. Consider also that if governments have determined falseflag tactics to be an effective option 50 years ago then that is more than enough reason to suspect false-flags to be a reasonable explanation for any potentially engineered bombing or attack we see today.

Step 4 - Search, pin down, and recognize the beneficiaries

We can all see where false-flags of the past have worked very well for the perpetrators. This information is difficult to hide. Throughout history the beneficiaries of false-flag operations are not debatable. This is knowledge and power for truth seekers. Beneficiaries stand naked in the eyes of history; alone they stand hoping that humanity will look the other way, not notice, or chalk up their improbable luck to coincidence. When government stands alone as the prime beneficiary of a false-flag, that should bother your sense of truth, trigger your intellectual integrity and set off your truth meter.

Side with reason and common sense before you blindly believe that governments luckily accept the results of apparent false-flag events and conveniently and impulsively change legislation to increase their power and take away the power from the people.

Step 5 - Analyze the event and look for common trends

Government false-flags almost always have a patsy designed to take the blame. This patsy seems to always have a connection/relationship/history of interaction with the U.S. government (military, FBI, CIA). This relationship with government entities is always ignored or downplayed by the controlled government mouthpiece mainstream media.

They always act as though the relationship is not real or not relevant. Amazingly, the patsy’s history always leads back to government. The patsy always denies doing it or tells the world they are being set up. Patsies are always eventually murdered, silenced, tortured or all of the above. We all know that dead men tell no tales and tortured people will tell any tell you want them to. This is why torture and murder is and always will be illegal even when committed by a temporary criminal government.

Government agents and entities always stage a massive presence at the event or scene of the crime well in advance, and always just prior to the event. It never fails, yet many in America chalk this up to coincidence, where there is no such thing when it comes to politically motivated events. The mainstream media is key to understanding false-flags. Look for huge overplayed ‘Breaking News’. This type of news is extremely sensational and is ongoing. Stories are repeated and told by various mouthpieces in almost exactly the same way.

Early on, the controlled mainstream media finds itself in a battle for laying out the initial narrative. They (the media) find themselves making gross errors, but government steps in and declares the changing narratives within the first few days even if the story is contradictory to what was being said the first day. During this early period it is common to hear large segments of truth coming especially from local media networks struggling to figure out what is happening but having to depend on the highest level (government controlled) sources.

During the coverage of the event, look for media to sensationalize the emotional trauma portion of the event in a manner that engages the public and invokes a mass emotional response. Nowadays they specifically target the emotions of the masses to open them up to accepting a soon-to-be-delivered solution (Problem-Reaction-Solution) to the false-flag attack.

The media coverage of this specific event will supersede coverage of any other tragedy or event. No matter what else is happening, government does not allow other events to get in the way of their planned false-flags. Too much has been invested to get the reaction and subsequent politically motivated solution to come. This is an important observation to make in identifying government false-flags.

The controlled mainstream media will always ignore huge facts, testimonies, and figures surrounding the event. Look for the ‘ignore reality and facts’ mode the media goes into when working with a false-flag event. Questions are very vague and not too challenging to the official story. In this phase look for politicians, police chiefs, mayors and media running from the real questions.

Note that in some cases you’ll be able to observe other huge (9/11 size) coincidences, but not all false-flags will be as easy to diagnose as the September 11th global government terrorist attacks. Many will be smaller scale and the scene of the crime will be limited to one instead of three.

Step 6 - Convince yourself and look for the evidence

Challenge yourself by telling yourself that you are willing to believe the government-mainstream media version of the story. Tell yourself that as long as the media version of the story is provable you are willing to believe only their version of the story. Then set out to prove the government-media claims. Get focused and go to work. Pick up every claim and set out to actually prove their claims. You’ll quickly find out that media and government actually never submit or put out any proof for their claims. Stay focused and prove this to yourself. Notice how they run from truth, reason and actual proof. You will hopefully finally distinguish between a claim and actual factual proof.

Once you see this reality you’ll never go back. You are now ready to take on the establishment and become a ninja for truth.

Step 7 - Cementing the lies

Finally, after the false-flag is over and time begins to pass, the government media complex will settle on one story. Facts and figures detrimental to their version of the story are never raised again, and those who question their version of the story are demonized and ridiculed. After this initial phase, Hollywood picks up the baton and reinforces the government-media version of the story from this point on.

Step 8 - Get ready to catch your first real-time false-flag

Beware, handle with care, and proceed slowly. The experience of catching your first government false-flag in real-time can be very distressing yet very liberating at the same time. My first real-time false-flag was the Bin Laden death hoax of May 1st 2011 and it felt very troubling yet very liberating. It was like a mental jolt, an awakening years after already being awakened.

This topic deserves a lot of attention and in this article we’ve discussed a sequence of factors that come into play for identifying government false-flags. Realizing the magnitude of what is at stake, the power of the mainstream media, the improbability of government and media claims and coincidences including governments connection to their patsies are all part of the government false-flag blueprint.

Will you allow this pattern of deception to work on you again? Or will you be prepared to call out the government on the next bombing false-flag? Are you still connected to the mainstream media poison? Is all of this a challenge to your paradigm? These are the fundamental questions you have to resolve before you can stand tall and know that you’ve caught your first government false-flag. Good luck, and remember: the greatest mind altering drug is the truth.

Survival Group Leadership and Control Issues

Jerod, not his real name but he will recognize his question, wrote to UrbanSurvivalSkills asking about leadership and control of a survival group. Apparently he is in a group with too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. He said there are six full time "preppers in his neighborhood which Jerod considers the "group", plus a couple guys he calls gun freaks, plus a couple of friends and relatives, with most of them having sat around and discussed what a collapse may look like and how to be prepared.

While this group individually purchases equipment and material, Jerod says there are some issues with what types of food, equipment, material that some of the more vocal members "highly suggest" buying. Jerod said there are some disagreements with an outline on what they first steps should be following a collapse, mostly around providing security around their neighborhood. He said about 1/3 of the group wants to determine a military type chain of command.  One of the guys wants everyone to make a list of what and how much they have and Jerod keeps blowing that off, concerned about exposing everything to everyone.

UrbanMan replies: Jerod, I appreciate you giving me permission to use your e- mail, however I took your rather long e-mail and condensed it down. We agree that living and surviving by yourself or with just your family is worst case because of the lack of support, but this is a two edged sword as a larger group will create leadership and control issues.....as you have found out. 

I understand your survival group (in my words) to be several individuals and in some cases families, living on different properties who are loosely prepping together and are prepared to provide support to each other, but who are not planning on moving or bugging out to a central location when the collapse hits.

If you are planning on joint support for all and from all, particularly in response to time sensitive events, I hope you are all located close enough and have a tested communications system or a general plan in order to access support from each other.

Leadership in a group, especially of Type A individuals, can be very difficult as many of these people may be thinking with their ego's and their feelings as opposed to applying critical thinking skills for the benefit of the group. This can be further made difficult due to these individuals being concerned about the safety of their love ones, therefore reluctant to accept a differing point of view or decision. And legitimately there can be a difference of opinion, among honest men, on how to proceed.

It's pretty simple if you own a house or a Bug Out retreat and a bunch of people show up to survive with you,....it's your way or the highway. Much different if you are one of many households occupying a neighborhood street and know you must organize to survive but disagree on how to do so.

American para-military forces or militia, certainly during the French and Indian Wars, and the Revolutionary War used to elect their leaders. Now, while that sounds a valid like a way to go, it can also split the team based on personal loyalties. Think about this: If the leader made a decision that, you thought, placed your family at risk, would you not do something about it?

At some point a survival group will need to have a decision making process, especially facing dire circumstances like security, disease control, water and food procurement, refugee control or visitor vetting.  Be it a linear chain of command, a committee or whatever. This has to be a timely process as well.

I am of the mind that a small committee is generally the best method of decision making within a grouping of independents elements. Maybe your core individuals get together and everyone has a say to what they admire or desire in a leader. This will help each person mentally evaluate the others as potential leaders or decision makers. Then the group votes on establishing, say a three person committee to make necessary decisions. If this is succesful, then the group votes by ballot on those three people.

Another thing you may be able to do is to have each group member write one or two key issues (in a tactful way) as topics for discussion. Group members who are not respect nor reasonable in this process will expose themselves as the same. If the group cannot be reasonable as a group then it may be time for you to disassociate yourself from the group. This may bring hard feelings and it would best be resolved with you moving before a collapse every started.

I hope I gave you some things to think about. Good luck in any case.