“Street Survival Skills” by Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre

It was nearly 10 PM when the Amazon guy finally showed up with the copies of my new book.
Until you actually see the book yourself, you worry about blank pages, terrible printing mistakes and similar disasters but no, if I may say so myself its a damn fine handsome book! ;-)

Folks, my 3rd book is finally out. It’s available in Amazon:

“Street Survival Skills: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Modern Survival”

The proof copies where printed in Poland, the retail one was printed in Germany. Both have nice thick paper, classy mate finish cover. The cover looks gorgeous in the physical copy. I used a photo from an old military canvas satchel for the background to give it that “notebook” feeling.

The book is 99% practical skills, with a page with sketches and drawings for each point so as to explain it in greater detail. Yes, those are my drawings. No, I’m not much of an artist but I believe the sketches and drawings do explain what I’m trying to say and that’s the point. (inlcuded below)
Guys, I honestly believe it turned out quite well. It’s the book I’m the most proud of and the one my family liked the most. I believe it goes along well with my first one, explaining many of the techniques mentioned there in greater detail plus another decade of additional experience, tips and thoughts.

If you do buy it and you find that you do like it (you can always return it if you don’t ;-)  ) I would greatly appreciate if you left a review reflecting that in Amazon. Takes just a couple minutes and you wouldn’t believe how much it helps.

I’m pretty tired so I’m going to bed now. Happy but tired. I’ll do a video tomorrow showing how the book looks on the inside.

Take care, and if you buy it let me know what you think about it when you have the chance.

-Fernando

Index

Introduction…………………………………………9

Chapter 1: Survival Basics…………..…..……. 15
Survival Rule of Three……………..……………….16
Seven Circles of Preparedness……………..………..18
Mind and Body…………………..………....…….…20
Bugging Out……………………….………...……...22
Politics and Media…………………………..………24

Chapter 2: Awareness ……………….…....….. 27
Awareness………………………………..…………28
Controlling Emotions and Body Language……….…30
Assessing Surroundings and Resources……….….….32
Suspicious Behavior………………………....………34
Awareness when Indoors…………………....………36
Estimating Distances……………………..…………38
Crowd Estimation……………………………..……40

Chapter 3: Gear…………..………………....… 43
Everyday carry Gear………………………..….……44
Clothing………….…………………….…...….……50
Shemagh, Scarf and Tie………………………..……54
Home Survival Kit………………………………….56
Car Survival Kit…………………………...…….…..58
Firearms………………………………...……….….60

Chapter 4: Security ……………………….…...65
Home Security……………………………….……. 66
Avoiding Scams and Frauds…………….…….…...  70
Formation when Walking……………………..……72
Safety when traveling on Foot……….……………74
Stalkers and Creeps……………….……....……….76
Safety at the ATM………………...………………78

Chapter 5: Firearms and Self-Defense….…. 81
Firearms Safety....…………………....…….…..…. 82
Handgun Grip……………………………...….… 84
How to Hold a Gun……………………...….……86
Point Shooting……………………………………88
How to Draw a Gun………..……………….……90
Drawing from Concealment…….………..……….92
Extreme Close Quarters Shooting ….…….………96
Room Clearing……………………………………98
Moving and Shooting……………………….…..…100
Using Cover……..…………………………….…..102
Gunfight Dynamics……………………..….……..104
What to do after a Shooting………..……….…….108
Ballistics……………………………………….….110
Force Multipliers………………………………….112
Punches and Gunshots: Reality vs Fiction……..….114
Using a Handgun as an Impact Weapon…………..116
Firearms Training…………………………..……..118
Firearms Training Tips……………………………120

Chapter 6: Bare Hand and Knife Fighting…. 125
Bare hand Fighting………………………….…….126
Self-Defense with a Knife……………………...….132
Where to Strike………………………….………...136
How to Defend Against a Knife Attack………..….138
Handgun Disarm Technique………………...…….140

Chapter 7: Improvised Weapons and Armor……… 143
Improvised Body Armor…………....….…….……..…144
Improvised Weapons………………………..…….…..146
Belt as a Weapon……………………………….…..…148
Flashlight as a Weapon………………..…....……….....150
Umbrella as a Weapon…………....................…….……152
Chair as a Weapon…………………………….….…...154
Making a Leather Coin Pouch…………….….………..156

Chapter 8: Defensive Driving………………..…….. 159
Awareness in Vehicles……………………...………….160
Ram a Vehicular Roadblock………………..………….166
How to do a Bootleg Turn and Handbrake Turn ..……168
How to do a J Turn……………………...….…………170
PIT Maneuver…………….………………………...…172
Using a Car against an Armed Attacker…………..……174
Car Ambush……………………………………..…….176
Using a Car for Cover………………………...………..178

Chapter 9: Moving, Barricade and Gaining Entry… 181
Safety Roll……………………………………..………182
Step Vault………………………………..…………….184
Jump Landing………………………………………….186
Dropping……………………………………...……….188
Going Over a Wall………..……………………………190
Lock Picking……………………………………...……192
Door Breaching ……………………….……...………..194
Barricade a Door……………………………….....……198

Chapter 10: Food and Cooking………………..….. 203
Start a Fire…………………………………….………..204
Filtering and Purifying Water………………...…………206
Food Storage……………………….…….……….208
Recipes……………………………………....……210
Make a Can Stove…………………………...…….214
Thermos Cooking and Shopping Cart Grill……..…216

Chapter 11: First Aid and Sanitation……………… 219
First Aid and Home Remedies………………….…220
Fireman's Carry and Walk Assist ………….………226
Ranger Roll ……………………………...…….…..228
Homemade Hand Sanitizer………………..……….230
Washing Clothes……………………………..…….232
Drying Clothes………………………….…………234

Chapter 12: Improvisation and Practical skills…… 237
Power Outages…………………………………….238
Homemade Insecticide……………….……………240
Homemade Body Armor………………..…………242
Knife Sharpening…………………………………..244
Gun Cleaning………………………………………246
Gun & Ammo Modifications………………...……..248
Detecting Counterfeit Money……………...………..250
Detecting Counterfeit Silver Coins………………….252

Reality-Based Preparedness…………………………254

About the author……………………………………255

Bibliography……..……………………….…………256
References ………………………………………….257

Choosing the right shotgun ammo for home defense

Robbery video: lessons Learned

Very interesting article posted over at loadoutroom.com on the adoption of 9mm by the FBI.

The FBI is Going 9mm: Here Comes the Science

UPDATE: There have been some questions about the origin of this FBI statement. As the word of the FBI’s solicitation for 9mm handguns became public, they were hit with a flood of questions from state and local agencies, many who carry .40, about the change. This statement was prepared the FBI Training Division to answer those questions and was intended for dissemination to law enforcement agencies. It was not classified Law Enforcement Sensitive and has spread to civilians. I have confirmed its origin and feel that its release poses no threat to law enforcement while providing enlightening science, paid for by taxpayer dollars, to the public.
After the Miami Shootout in 1986, the FBI invented modern ammunition testing and led the law-enforcement movement to .40 caliber. The FBI is very conservative, and has one of the best ballistics labs in the world.
With the amazing 21st-century advances in ammunition technology, many people have advocated a move back to 9mm. Recently, the FBI announced they were buying a new gun in 9mm. When the FBI makes a move like that, they have thought it through very thoroughly.
I respect the science and how hard it was for them to make this change. The FBI takes their leadership role in law enforcement very seriously. Below is their carefully crafted message, sent to other agencies, explaining their reasons.

FBI 9MM Justification
FBI Training Division: FBI Academy, Quantico, VA
Executive Summary of Justification for Law Enforcement Partners
· Caliber debates have existed in law enforcement for decades
· Most of what is “common knowledge” with ammunition and its effects on the human target are rooted in myth and folklore
· Projectiles are what ultimately wound our adversaries and the projectile needs to be the basis for the discussion on what “caliber” is best
· In all the major law enforcement calibers there exist projectiles which have a high likelihood of failing LEO’s in a shooting incident and there are projectiles which have a high ting incident likelihood of succeeding for LEOs in a shooting incident
· Handgun stopping power is simply a myth
· The single most important factor in effectively wounding a human target is to have penetration to a scientifically valid depth (FBI uses 12” – 18”)
· LEOs miss between 70 – 80 percent of the shots fired during a shooting incident
· Contemporary projectiles (since 2007) have dramatically increased the terminal effectiveness of many premium line law enforcement projectiles (emphasis on the 9mm Luger offerings)
· 9mm Luger now offers select projectiles which are, under identical testing conditions, I outperforming most of the premium line .40 S&W and .45 Auto projectiles tested by the FBI
· 9mm Luger offers higher magazine capacities, less recoil, lower cost (both in ammunition and wear on the weapons) and higher functional reliability rates (in FBI weapons)
· The majority of FBI shooters are both FASTER in shot strings fired and more ACCURATE with shooting a 9mm Luger vs shooting a .40 S&W (similar sized weapons)
· There is little to no noticeable difference in the wound tracks between premium line law Auto enforcement projectiles from 9mm Luger through the .45 Auto
· Given contemporary bullet construction, LEO’s can field (with proper bullet selection) 9mm Lugers with all of the terminal performance potential of any other law enforcement pistol caliber with none of the disadvantages present with the “larger” calibers

Justification for Law Enforcement Partners
Rarely in law enforcement does a topic stir a more passionate debate than the choice of handgun caliber made by a law enforcement organization. Many voice their opinions by repeating the old adage “bigger is better” while others have “heard of this one time” where a smaller caliber failed and a larger caliber “would have performed much better.” Some even subscribe to the belief that a caliber exists which will provide a “one shot stop.” It has been stated, “Decisions on ammunition selection are particularly difficult because many of the pertinent issues related to handguns and ammunition are firmly rooted in myth and folklore.” This still holds as true today as it did when originally stated 20 years ago.
Caliber, when considered alone, brings about a unique set of factors to consider such as magazine capacity for a given weapon size, ammunition availability, felt recoil, weight and cost. What is rarely discussed, but most relevant to the caliber debate is what projectile is being considered for use and its terminal performance potential.
One should never debate on a gun make or caliber alone. The projectile is what wounds and ultimately this is where the debate/discussion should focus. In each of the three most common law enforcement handgun calibers (9mm Luger, .40 Smith & Wesson and .45 AUTO) there are projectiles which have a high likelihood of failing law enforcement officers and in each of these three calibers there are projectiles which have a high likelihood of succeeding for law enforcement officers during a shooting incident. The choice of a service projectile must undergo intense scrutiny and scientific evaluation in order to select the best available option.

Understanding Handgun Caliber Terminal Ballistic Realities
Many so called “studies” have been performed and many analyses of statistical data have been undertaken regarding this issue. Studies simply involving shooting deaths are irrelevant since the goal of law enforcement is to stop a threat during a deadly force encounter as quickly as possible. Whether or not death occurs is of no consequence as long as the threat of death or serious injury to law enforcement personnel and innocent third parties is eliminated.
“The concept of immediate incapacitation is the only goal of any law enforcement shooting and is the underlying rationale for decisions regarding weapons, ammunition, calibers and training.”1
Studies of “stopping power” are irrelevant because no one has ever been able to define how much power, force, or kinetic energy, in and of itself, is required to effectively stop a violent and determined adversary quickly, and even the largest of handgun calibers are not capable of delivering such force. Handgun stopping power is simply a myth. Studies of so?called “one shot stops” being used as a tool to define the effectiveness of one handgun cartridge, as opposed to another, are irrelevant due to the inability to account for psychological influences and due to the lack of reporting specific shot placement.
In short, extensive studies have been done over the years to “prove” a certain cartridge is better than another by using grossly flawed methodology and or bias as a precursor to manipulating statistics. In order to have a meaningful understanding of handgun terminal ballistics, one must only deal with facts that are not in dispute within the medical community, i.e. medical realities, and those which are also generally accepted within law enforcement, i.e. tactical realities.

Medical Realities
Shots to the Central Nervous System (CNS) at the level of the cervical spine (neck) or above, are the only means to reliably cause immediate incapacitation. In this case, any of the calibers commonly used in law enforcement, regardless of expansion, would suffice for obvious reasons. Other than shots to the CNS, the most reliable means for affecting rapid incapacitation is by placing shots to large vital organs thus causing rapid blood loss. Simply stated, shot placement is the most critical component to achieving either method of incapacitation.
Wounding factors between rifle and handgun projectiles differ greatly due to the dramatic differences in velocity, which will be discussed in more detail herein. The wounding factors, in order of importance, are as follows:
A. Penetration:
A projectile must penetrate deeply enough into the body to reach the large vital organs, namely heart, lungs, aorta, vena cava and to a lesser extent liver and spleen, in order to cause rapid blood loss. It has long been established by expert medical professionals, experienced in evaluating gunshot wounds, that this equates to a range of penetration of 12?18 inches, depending on the size of the individual and the angle of the bullet path (e.g., through arm, shoulder, etc.). With modern properly designed, expanding handgun bullets, this objective is realized, albeit more consistently with some law enforcement projectiles than others. 1 Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness: Firearms Training Unit, Ballistic Research Facility, 1989.
B. Permanent Cavity:
The extent to which a projectile expands determines the diameter of the permanent cavity which, simply put, is that tissue which is in direct contact with the projectile and is therefore destroyed. Coupled with the distance of the path of the projectile (penetration), the total permanent cavity is realized. Due to the elastic nature of most human tissue and the low velocity of handgun projectiles relative to rifle projectiles, it has long been established by medical professionals, experienced in evaluating gunshot wounds, that the damage along a wound path visible at autopsy or during surgery cannot be distinguished between the common handgun calibers used in law enforcement. That is to say an operating room surgeon or Medical Examiner cannot distinguish the difference between wounds caused by .35 to .45 caliber projectiles.
C. Temporary Cavity:
The temporary cavity is caused by tissue being stretched away from the permanent cavity. If the temporary cavity is produced rapidly enough in elastic tissues, the tensile strength of the tissue can be exceeded resulting in tearing of the tissue. This effect is seen with very high velocity projectiles such as in rifle calibers, but is not seen with handgun calibers. For the temporary cavity of most handgun projectiles to have an effect on wounding, the velocity of the projectile needs to exceed roughly 2,000 fps. At the lower velocities of handgun rounds, the temporary cavity is not produced with sufficient velocity to have any wounding effect; therefore any difference in temporary cavity noted between handgun calibers is irrelevant. “In order to cause significant injuries to a structure, a pistol bullet must strike that structure directly.”2 2 DiMaio, V.J.M.: Gunshot Wounds, Elsevier Science Publishing Company, New York, NY, 1987, page 42.
D. Fragmentation:
Fragmentation can be defined as “projectile pieces or secondary fragments of bone which are impelled outward from the permanent cavity and may sever muscle tissues, blood vessels, etc., apart from the permanent cavity”3. Fragmentation does not reliably occur in soft tissue handgun wounds due to the low velocities of handgun bullets. When fragmentation does occur, fragments are usually found within one centimeter (.39”) of the permanent cavity.4 Due to the fact that most modern premium law enforcement ammunition now commonly uses bonded projectiles (copper jacket bonded to lead core), the likelihood of fragmentation is very low. For these reasons, wounding effects secondary to any handgun caliber bullet fragmentation are considered inconsequential. 3 Fackler, M.L., Malinowski, J.A.: “The Wound Profile: A Visual Method for Quantifying Gunshot Wound Components”, Journal of Trauma 25: 522?529, 1958. 4 Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness: Firearms Training Unit, Ballistic Research Facility, 1989.

Psychology
Any discussion of stopping armed adversaries with a handgun has to include the psychological state of the adversary. Psychological factors are probably the most important relative to achieving rapid incapacitation from a gunshot wound to the torso.5 First and foremost, the psychological effects of being shot can never be counted on to stop an individual from continuing conscious voluntary action. Those who do stop commonly do so because they decide to, not because they have to.
The effects of pain are often delayed due to survival patterns secondary to “fight or flight” reactions within the body, drug/alcohol influences and in the case of extreme anger or aggression, pain can simply be ignored. Those subjects who decide to stop immediately after being shot in the torso do so commonly because they know they have been shot and are afraid of injury or death, regardless of caliber, velocity, or bullet design. It should also be noted that psychological factors can be a leading cause of incapacitation failures and as such, proper shot placement, adequate penetration, and multiple shots on target cannot be over emphasized. 5 Ibid.

Tactical Realities
Shot placement is paramount and law enforcement officers on average strike an adversary with only 20 – 30 percent of the shots fired during a shooting incident. Given the reality that shot placement is paramount (and difficult to achieve given the myriad of variables present in a deadly force encounter) in obtaining effective incapacitation, the caliber used must maximize the likelihood of hitting vital organs. Typical law enforcement shootings result in only one or two solid torso hits on the adversary. This requires that any projectile which strikes the torso has as high a probability as possible of penetrating deeply enough to disrupt a vital organ.
The Ballistic Research Facility has conducted a test which compares similar sized Glock pistols in both .40 S&W and 9mm calibers, to determine if more accurate and faster hits are achievable with one versus the other. To date, the majority of the study participants have shot more quickly and more accurately with 9mm caliber Glock pistols. The 9mm provides struggling shooters the best chance of success while improving the speed and accuracy of the most skilled shooters.

Conclusion
While some law enforcement agencies have transitioned to larger calibers from the 9mm Luger in recent years, they do so at the expense of reduced magazine capacity, more felt recoil, and given adequate projectile selection, no discernible increase in terminal performance.
Other law enforcement organizations seem to be making the move back to 9mm Luger taking advantage of the new technologies which are being applied to 9mm Luger projectiles. These organizations are providing their armed personnel the best chance of surviving a deadly force encounter since they can expect faster and more accurate shot strings, higher magazine capacities (similar sized weapons) and all of the terminal performance which can be expected from any law enforcement caliber projectile.
Given the above realities and the fact that numerous ammunition manufacturers now make 9mm Luger service ammunition with outstanding premium line law enforcement projectiles, the move to 9mm Luger can now be viewed as a decided advantage for our armed law enforcement personnel.

This information was published by Loose Rounds on September 21, 2014.

Argentine Stock Market and Ammo after the Economic Collapse

MERVAL Index is the most important index of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange.

Hi Ferfal,
I have been following you blog and videos for a couple of years now. Also, I am reading your new book and enjoying it immensely. I would like to add that I loved your first book too.

I have a couple of nagging questions and I am hoping you might be able to answer them. First, I notice that you never mention the financial markets in Argentina. When Argentina had its' financial collapse over a decade ago, were there ANY areas that thrived? Or was it too risky to be in the markets? I hear people recommend this stock, bond etc. as being a good form of protection against financial collapse, however, I tend to be very skeptical. I have purchased some gold/ silver, but is there anything else you recommend (especially in the financial markets). Please understand, I am not looking for a "hot stock pick", or a way to get rich, just added ways to protect myself.

Also, I have a question about ammunition. If a large economic event were to occur in the US, what is likely to happen to self defense ammunition (JHP's). Were they scarce in Argentina? Were they too expensive to buy? Did the government limit their use? The reason I ask is that I tend to favor the 9mm and the .45ACP and if hollow points are hard to find, I will eventually run out of my 9mm hollow points. Are the 9mm fmj's as bad as many people say? I figure that if it happens that they are hard to find, I can use .45 fmj's. What do you recommend?
Thank you for all of your no nonsense advice. It is truly appreciated.
-Matt

.
.
Hi Matt,
Regarding your first question, the Argentine market did get hit because of the economic collapse of December 2001, but it wasn’t as serious as you would expect. In fact, if you look at the chart, it seems to have been doing rather well ever since. Here, he have to keep a couple things in mind.

First, the argentine stock market wasn’t that big to begin with. There was no bubble to burst, so the drop due to the crisis wasn’t as significant as you might expect. Second, you have to keep in mind that as you consider the rising graphic, you must take into account that after 2001 the Argentine peso is no longer pegged to the US dollar and in fact inflation is likely bringing that chart down much more than it would initially seem, especially these last few years. I’m not stock exchange savvy but for the most part its understood that the stock exchange in Argentina is small, messy and you’re more likely to end up losing money. My advice would be to go for land, brick and mortar. Real estate has always been considered a safe, stable investment when buying smart and not falling for some developer’s scam.

Regarding ammunition, you already know that when things get tough, ammo gets pretty scarce. This is especially true for the more common calibers such as 22LR, 9mm ad 45 ACP. In the case of Argentina ammo was hard to find at times and it sure was expensive. The problem was that premium JHP ammo for defense was expensive to import after the devaluation, so there wasn’t that much floating around. Still, with some patience and a bit of money you did find it, especially in the more common calibers.

My advice here is to have plenty of ammunition. Start buying as funds allow but try going for 1000 rounds of pistol ammo. 5000 rounds would be even better, but 1000 should do as your first goal to go for. I know ammo is expensive but there’s just no way around it: Without ammo a gun is just a fancy paperweight or a poor club. If you buy a box here and there it will eventually pile up. Make sure to keep your emergency supply and not use it. I would go for quality JHP, in the case of 9mm I like 124gr +P. FMJ is not as bad as it sounds though. Granted, stopping power is pretty bad compared to JHP, but ball ammo kills people every day. Indeed, hardball FMJ .45 is superior to FMJ 9mm, but 9mm hollow point premium ammo will perform better than FMJ 45. Just make sure to buy ammo now for a rainy day. Even with ten boxes of ammo, not many people go through 500 rounds of ammo in defensive shootings during their entire life. Heck, most people will go their entire lives without firing a single round in self-defense, few will go through 50 rounds, let alone 500 or 1000.

FerFAL

USD Sniffing Dogs in Argentine Borders

Drugs, explosives?  No, its US dollars what dogs in Argentina border controls are trained tosniff for.

This has been going on for some time, since the unofficial ban on foreign currencies was imposed. The main focus of attention was the check points between Argentina and Uruguay, mostly the popular ferry services between Buenos Aires and the neighboring country. This time it was the border with Chile, where a man was arrested for trying to get into the country with 98.000 USD in cash hidden under his clothes.

Now if you want to brutally attack a senior Americantourist in downtown Buenos Aires, that you can do without a problem and even if doing so in front of a police officer the worse that will happen is that you’ll have to lose 6 hours of your day making a statement, then its back to mugging people for you. Murdering, robbing or raping people is not the kind of thing the Argentine government is worried about stopping, but those rich pigs with USD, now those they quickly throw behind bars. If they are not politicians, that is.

That’s the ironic thing about the rule of law and the WROL myth. The fact is, during periods of tyranny, the law wont be there to protect you but it will be enforced when new rules to take away your freedom are created.

FerFAL

Question on stopping power‏

 

Fernando,

Relative to stopping power, if worst comes to worst, what are your thoughts re. a .40 or .45 vs. a 9mm hollow point? Would they have roughly the same stopping power, even though the latter is a smaller bullet (at least a the point of leaving the gun!)

Thanks, Jim

Hi Jim,
These days you have very well made JHP ammo. With quality hollow point ammo, shot placement is FAR more important than if hitting with a 9mm, .40 or .45.
9mm is usually the most reasonable choice because it allows you to shoot cheaper ammo for lots of practice, it is readily available anywhere where ammo is sold, guns that chamber 9mm have greater capacity and when loaded with premium ammo 9mm is enough to get the job done.

Now, as important as shot placement is, and it is the key factor, I wouldn’t really want to go for less than 9mm. Good 9mm JHP will work when putting enough rounds in the right place, but smaller rounds may fail to penetrate or do enough damage even with relatively good shot placement. Some people that don’t understand much about ballistics and haven’t done much research as of what to expect from each caliber think that as long as you put the round in the right place, that’s all that matters. Such people have told me they carry a 22LR because they will shoot to the head, and it doesn’t matter the caliber, a shot the head means you’re going down. Well… that’s not entirely correct. There are plenty of cases in which 22LR, and .32s failed to penetrate the skull, especially when impacting at an angle.

At the same time, and even if the difference is small, more power is usually preferred. While I would go for a 9mm as may first and only handgun, if I could get to choose I would rather carry something a bit more powerful, in my case 357 SIG or 40 S&W if I cant go for the SIG. Shot placement is still important, but experience tells us that with a bit more power, in average, you will have better one shot stop rates. Sure, handguns are all underpowered when compared to long arms, but 357 Magnum 125gr. JHP sure has better one shot stop rates than 9mm ball.

45ACP is a great round, but the difference is marginal when compared to premium .40 JHP ammo one shot stop rates, and you can have it in a smaller gun with more ammo capacity and less recoil.
FerFAL

Gun & Ammo Scare: Stock up on Common or Oddball Calibers?

What ammunition to choose?

I just wondered if you had any experience with HORNADY CRITICAL DEFENSE 
AMMUNITION?  What do you carry, assuming availability?  As for me, I 
currently carry Hornady HP XTP.  I have kept about 1400 rds. of 
Winchester FP full metal jacket ammunition for my backup cache in the 
event of market collapse such as happened after the last presidential 
election. These are available locally in Wal-Mart for about $34.00 for 
100.   The price and availability permits regular range trips and 
training classes while giving a little peace of mind about what the 
future might hold.

        -Mike

Hornady makes good ammo. I dont have experience with that particular model but in general Hornady will not let you down.
This is basically what I go for in the different calibers.

22LR
As awful as it is for defense, if this is all you have you do not want to go with bulk ammo since the reliability of bulk is mediocre to say the least. I preffer CCI Stingers which are one of the hottest offerings. Velocitors are also pretty hot and a bit heavier which is good since a light 22LR HP may fail to penetrate. If you can´t find that then Yellow Jackets are an acceptable alternative. Whatever it is you´ve got to shoot at least 500 rounds of it before you trust yor life to that particular 22LR (Ah!)

9mm
When a round is designed to be light and fast then that´s often your best shot and this is the case of 9mm, In Argentina they´ve  experimented a lot with 147g truncated cone FMJ. This was supposed to be marginally better than 124 FMJ round nose, marginal being the part to keep in mind. For 9mm I like Gold Dots +P 124gr JHP. These have a 90% one shot stop rate according to some studies, and the street reputation is very good. Basically its just good ammo that should do its part if you do yours, and always remember there´s no magic bullet so train to shoot as much as needed until the bad guy goes down.

40 S&W
My Glock seems to like Wolf ammo a lot. I”ve heard some bad things about it but in mine it works nice. That lacker its painted with sometimes sticks in the chamber when the gun is hot but it has still worked reliably for me. If push comes to shove its acceptable ammo for defense as well, pretty hot stuff. For defense, I also preffer light weights offered by Gold Dot or Federal.

357 SIG
This is my favorite caliber for defense. For 357 SIG I choose Gold Dot as well. It will push the 125gr JHP at over 1400 fps in the Glock 31.

12 Gauge
While 00 buck is supposed to be the best shotgun load for defense, I”ve heard from people that have shot more humans with it than most experts tell me that 4 Buckshot has worked even better for them at the typical close ranges. Either load will be effective and the old wives tales of people always standing and laughung at you after getting a blast of 12ga in the chest are just that. Granted, no single round of any kind gives 100% stopping power, but the Argentine cops I´ve talked to that have used it often against criminals all tell the same thing: After putting a shotgun shot into the bad guys center of mass, the threat is very much over. He may live or not but he´s out of the fight (again, most cases, there´s never 100% certainty)

Rifle Ammo
The bulk ammo available for rifles is generally of the military type that will perform well. Stick to military type ammo for semi auto rifles and avoid shooting hunting ammo in them unless you´ve extensively experimented with them. There´s two reasons for this. First, it may be designed for bolt action rifles and may not feed well in your semi auto. Second, it may not have a strong enough crimp on the projectilce, and this may loosen with the back and forth ratling of recoil.
Hornady and other brands make excellent premium ammo for semi autos for defensive purposes. If you can afford to test it until you're sure it works in your gun well, that's your best option.
In general avoid ammo that over fragments since this has proven to be a poor stopper. If you have choices between JHP and soft points, in general soft points will hold together better. This is just in general cases and it may vary depending on what brand and type of ammunition you´re shooting.
Take care!
Join the forum discussion on this post!
FerFAL

357 SIG

Mr Aguirre

Thanks for your blog and book.  The book is probably the best primer on what to expect, if we see a crash inour future.  It isn’t as ‘pretty’ as many other such books, but much more useful–especially the arguments for stayingin the suburbs–instead of ‘survival retreating’ from Argentina’s eperience.

Regarding the video.  I agree very much with your choice of the .357 Glock.  I also have a #31 Glock and will carry it more when the weather gets colder.  I have a Kahr CW9 for warmer weather.  I only have (second hand) knowledge of one person shot with a .357 magnum, by a deputy that I knew.  The robber simply dropped on the spot and was pronounced ‘DOA’ at the hospital.  Somewhere that 125 gr magnum load earned the term ‘trapdoor load’ because a lot of bad guys just dropped straight down like they were falling through a trapdoor with a solid hit from one.  The Glock 31 fiully loaded weighs pretty close to the same as my unloaded Glock 20 and is smaller in all of the right places.

I reload .357 Sig and can load a box for $12.00, buying once fired cases (in lots of 500) with Hornady or Nosler 124gr JHP’s–both good performers.  Gold Dots are much more expensive and raise the cost to $17 per box.  If you reload this round I highly recommend the Lee collet crimping die.  (Never factor in your per hour labor or you may never reload again).  All loads in this ’31 are as accurate as target wad cutters in my Gold Cup .45, except the 124 gr fmj Winchester loads that I can buy at my local Walmart (about $30–last I checked).

Mark

Hi Mark, I agree with you and that’s why I went with the 357 SIG in the first place. While I dont expect one shot stops with any caliber (hangun or rifle) I know some are better than others and the 357 SIG is clearly one of the most effective ones you can shoot from a handgun. Besides its power there’s also the issue of it being the most accurate mass produced pistol caliber with a flat trajectory as well as the one that will feed best and  less likely to jam compared to straight wall cases.

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FerFAL

40S&W and 357 SIG

1.       I note that you are running your old blog and a new website with the same articles. I was wondering why and is there an advantage to running both simultaneously or if you are going to discontinue your blog at some point?

2.       I like your book and recommend it to anyone who is becoming aware of the need to make preparations for being self-reliant.

3.       I know you like the .357 SIG but I think the .40 S&W is a better choice. I have read Marshall’s three books and find some problems with the way he evaluates the data. The one that jumps out is excluding multiple hits even if they are solid hits in the torso. If I have one cartridge that I exclude 100 cases because they have multiple hits and another that only has one case that was excluded because of multiple hits that would indicate the latter is more effective. Bullets work by punching holes in things. Bigger bullets make bigger holes making it more likely to hit something important and creating a larger permanent wound channel. If you examine bullets before they were jacketed you will find most were large calibers. Smaller calibers developed after the development of jacketed rifle bullets with higher velocities. The high velocity jacketed rifle bullets provided a flatter trajectory increasing the chance of a first round hit. The caliber had to be reduced to prevent excessive recoil for the average soldier. Since Glocks in .357 SIG and .40 S&W are the same size and magazine capacity I will pick the larger caliber. The only significant advantage I could possible see with the .357 SIG might be better penetration of vehicles depending on the bullets.
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” -C.S. Lewis
Bill-

Hi Bill! About your questions;
1)The Modern Survivalist is a more powerful platform that includes its own forum and a window showing the latest youtube videos I post on The Modern Survivalist Channel. My original idea was to simply move everything over there and keep blogging in my new website.
Turns out that a few people prefer the blogspot format. My reason for blogging is my readers, so I can’t just ignore the preference of some of them. What I decided to do is keep blogging in both places at the same time. The readers that like blogspot better can keep reading it and the ones that prefer the new website also have it. Turns out there’s a different readership for each website, in spite of having the exact same blog posts being made. I particularly enjoy the forum at my new website ( I started simply posting in forums)  and making the youtube videos is fun as well. No plans of closing “Surviving in Argentina”. There’s no need to do so and I also like having a “plan B” in case either blog has a problem.

2)Thanks! As most of you know I have no publisher, no agent, just a few good friends like Matt Bracken that helped with the editing. Yet “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” is one of the top 10 best selling survival books in Amazon, competing (and sometimes wining) against big publishing firms with enormous marketing and advertising resources. People like you have made that possible with mouth to mouth recommendation. Thank you!

3) There’s much more to handgun ballistics than just “punching holes into things”. A hole through the brain or spine will stop you, that much is true. But why do some people fall when shot in the torso with certain calibers and why don’t they stop when shot with others? Not all calibers are created equal, and stopping power is just part of the equation. There’s also accuracy, reliability, ammo availability, price, etc. Some are more accurate and/or reliable than others. One of the first things to know about the 357 SIG is that it’s a pretty fast round for a handgun, with a nice flat trajectory. Its bottle shaped case makes it one of the most reliable rounds in terms of feeding into the pistol´s chamber.
What about stopping power? You want as much power as possible in your caliber of choice, but you also want means of putting that energy to good use. The human body is pretty complex and the effects vary depending on where you hit, the person and what he’s been up to. Lets suppose the guy just had two Quarter pounders with cheese and half a gallon of coke and you put a fast 9mm JHP round through his already bloated stomach? I can guarantee you that person will go down like a ton of bricks, the shock that you create in his bowels will simply be intolerant. What about a savvy Argentine criminal? The local criminal pro will not eat or drink before a “job”. He actually purges himself a couple days before so as to have nothing in his digestive system. “What kills you is the crap inside you”, a doctor that works in prisons told me while waiting our turn to shoot during an action shooting match. “After getting shot the fecal matter and food spreads all inside, then infection comes and finished you. But these SOBs, they have nothing there so with a bit of luck they just heal on their own. Especially with FMJ like the police uses. Zip! Goes right through. They just lay low for a while and heal to rob another day.”

In your body you have soft tissue and bone, there’s flesh, fat and organs, each with different consistency and breaking point. Certain organs are less flexible and don’t take well to expansion. On all cases the shock in the body creates a wave that affects the nervous and vascual system. Basically when it comes to stopping power what you’re looking for is to avoid the icepick effect of a projectile going straight through, and having the “baseball bat” effect.  An icepick hurts, an icepick bleeds, but it doesn’t stop you as well as getting bashed with a bat. Imagine that a pistol round doing its job works like a mini bat. How does a mini bat strike drop a large attacker? By hitting things that matter. People don’t take well to trauma being inflicted across their internal organs.
Like you say, back in the old days the only way of achieving this result was with larger projectiles. Like an open palm striking water, the larger sectional area of a .50 black powder pistol would put the limited energy of such weapon to better use.  With a .45 and a bit faster speeds, your still achieving a respectable punch.

Your other alternative is having even greater speed and a jacketed hollow point that expands on impact. It seems that with a weight of 125.gr in a JHP projectile and a speed of 1400fps, good results are achieved. That’s the ballistics of the 357 magnum round that gained a rightfully earned fame for its stopping power. That’s exactly what the 357 SIG replicates with a shorter, bottle necked case round intended for pistols, a 125gr projectile going at over 1400fps.
You have people out there that say either a central nervous system hit or blood loss is the only way to stop an attacker. The problem with such claims is that people get shot and stopped every day with other type of wounds as well. The 357 SIG gives you a nice amount of energy and ballistic performance for a pistol. Other calibers like 45ACP and 40S&W do well too of course, even the 9mm does nice with fast JHPs. Some stick to 9mm for self defense because they consider the advantage of other calibers to be marginal. I simply happen to want to have that marginal advantage. You like 40S&W, no doubt it works well too, and the reports against its good performance are few. Its just that in my opinion the 357 Magnum that the 357 SIG replicates has the best reputation in terms of stopping power of any handgun (in humans) and the 357 SIG reports rolling in live to that heritage: The caliber works. It’s known for its better than average penetration, but what I care for the most is the reputation its earning little by little as a great stopper.
Still, never expecting one shot stops , and keep shooting until the bad guy goes down still applies. Hope this helped explain better why I like the 357 SIG over other calibers.
Take care!
FerFAL
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#4 Buckshot

FerFAL,
 
Here are some results that we have gotten in 10% ballistic gelatin for 
#4 buckshot, if you are interested:
 
http://www.brassfetcher.com/12%20gauge%20number%20four%20buckshot.pdf
 
Best regards,
John

LTL (less than lethal) 12 ga. Ammunition and Warning Shots during Civil Unrest.

When shooting for self defense you shoot to stop, not shooting to wound like you occasional hear people asking,  shooting the arm, or leg.

One person even asked me once if you couldn’t just shoot the gun out of the hands of the bad guy, given that I knew how to shoot. I don’t even remember the person who asked but I remember the question and thinking, “ is there no limit to how stupid a person can be?”

Having said that there are shades of gray in between, that’s where OC Spray comes in and in some situations, LTL ammo.

You have a defendable position, you have a group of people closing in with clear intentions, you don’t see guns around but they are still closing in, maybe a round of LTL convinces them that you are serious and spares you the corpse in your lawn and the thousands worth of lawyers or even time in jail if you’re unlucky enough. So yes, backed up with lead buckshot, one or maybe two rounds of LTL may spare you a lot of grief in the right situation. 

Its really just another tool in the tool box so to speak. You keep the shotgun loaded (lead ammo) and handy with a “hole” in the magazine (full capacity minus one round). That way you can load a specialty round if needed. LTL or Slugs for more range and penetration.

Now, if you’re shooting LTL, it has to be a situation that makes it right to use a firearm against someone in the first place, and you do so as a last resort before shooting the real stuff, so it either stops the conflict with a bit of luck, or makes you look good in front of other if you end up using lethal force: You clearly tried everything within your means before using lethal force. 

During the riots, I saw on TV how a cop defended a supermarket, all alone, just with his shotgun. He stood in the front gate, between the supermarket and large group of looters. He didn’t have a defendable position or even basic cover so what he was doing was pretty risky.  When the looters came close, he shot a round into the air. The looters stopped moving forward but kept looking. He shouted “Get the fuck out of here! NOW!”  and shot one or two rounds into the pavement in front of the group, sending the plastic pellet spreading wide before hitting the looters. That got them hurrying away as requested. The cop didn’t look scared, he looked extremely pissed as if he was about to shoot them all down. You can see why the looters moved on, probably looking for an easier target or a less determined defender.

About the OC grenades, this same gunshop that was selling the LTL ammo I mentioned in the interview had some of these grenades available, sold them all out pretty fast too.

For the price, don’t even thing about it, get a box of LTL ammo, it may spare you a lot of problems one day. Just remember to train with the shotgun so as to have it ready that way, and use that hole in the mag as you’re supposed to. Just one round of LTL at a time, one round and you load one again if you want but get used to shooting one at a time so as to always have the rest of the magazine full with lead buckshot in case they rush in and you have to defend yourself. Its tricky business because if you get confused you may end up just pumping a round again and shooting lead when you don’t want to, so again. 1) only use when you would be in your right to use lethal force 2) Train and practice the drill until it becomes automatic to load and shoot the LTL round, or other specialty round you have a need for. 

Warning shots are a reality as well during civil unrest and can even become common practice in some places. In the Argentine country, ranchers and farmers routinely shoot warning shots to send trespassers and poachers away. It gets the job done. Yet another reason to use 22LR as a "work" gun: Cheap warning shots. Imagine shooting two or three warning shots almost on daily basis, the ammo cost goes up quickly.

After the quake in Chile, a man with a shotgun ended up shooting 2000 rounds, nearly all of them warning shots.

These are all different tools to use, different alternatives you may have given the situation you are in. There's no black or white answer, these situations are complicated and its best to use your head so as to resolve them with the least amount of violence, escalating according to the situation, in a way that you avoid further problems down the road.

FerFAL