Paul Helinski

The word “forever” doesn’t compute in the American consumer market. We are a disposable society. But after the coming collapse, you better darn have some resources that could theoretically take care of your needs, “forever.” This week I am looking at some cutting edge survival lighting technology, and it just so happens they were made at the turn of the last century. Standard Oil Company was pushing their new “kerosene
fuel at that time, hoping to replace whale oil where natural gas could not be piped, and they came out with a newly patented product called the “center draft lamp.”

This week we are sending out the “Most Popular of 2015” for the Prepping 101 column, and I was thinking how odd it is that the most popular of this series has always been anything to do with guns. Granted, this is GunsAmerica, so the choir is a bunch of gun nuts like me. But [...]

We will be taking a break from the normal schedule here at GunsAmerica until the week before SHOT Show in January, so I thought it would be nice to share with you some of the subjects and products that I am working on for the coming year. If you haven’t read this column all along [...]

My research of late has taken me back to the subject of heating for the winter. About this time last year I reviewed the US Military H-45 stove, which burns diesel and gasoline, and at full tilt, it is a bit much of a stove to handle, and it consumes a good deal of fuel. If you already burn home heating oil to heat your house in the winter, it is an emergency heater you should take a look at. But for long term survival, where every ounce of fuel counts, there are some better options.

Everyone needs a plan B. And that got me thinking. From everything I see, there is a “master plan” that will lead us to a directed outcome, yet there is no way to tell what that is coming. You can’t take all of your survival supplies with you in daily travels ,and what are the statistical chances that you will have your survival supplies at hand should “the big one” pop? What if I’m on the way back from Legoland with my kids and there is a roadblock between me and home? Granted, at some point you have to accept that the One Above is in charge, but I do believe in due diligence. You can drive yourself nuts with the what ifs, but is it wise to hide some survival supplies, especially outside of your property? What kind of storage will last for years, and protect the contents inside from pests and water damage? I found a couple of large military containers that are cheap, and from what I can tell so far, they are also bone dry and indestructible.

I have always been a fan of the .44 Magnum, not because it is the biggest boy on the block (it’s not), but because you can always get ammo for it, and it’s easy and cheap to reload. But probably the biggest strength of the .44 Mag is that you can get ammo at most any gun shop, and even at Walmarts that still carry ammo. To me that outweighs the little bit of extra power you can get with guns that are more powerful, and that have much more expensive and rare ammo. I think every gun accumulation should have a .44 Mag in it. And if you can afford one of the top name (and price) brands, you should consider them. But if you’re on a budget, I have found that this new generation of Taurus products are extremely high quality. The Model 444 Raging Bull 44 Mag .has been around for a generation at this point, and at a street price of under $700, I thought it was worth a new look and a range test. After a couple hundred rounds downrange, the gun did not disappoint. The Raging Bull is a handful, to hold and to shoot, but if you are in the market for a .44 Mag, I think you’d be surprised by this big Taurus stainless steel revolver.

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I like to share my failures with you all along with my successes, and I have to to tell you, water, the most important resource of all, is a tough thing to collect and store successfully. I set up my own collection system over a year ago, when I first started this column in March of 2014, and water was my very first actual article. For me, the most bang for the buck was to buy some used IBC totes, which I showed you in that article. Then I had gutters installed on my house, with the downspouts directly feeding into the tanks. The result was a lot of water, but a year and a half later, it’s not as simple. I also tried an alternate water collection system, as I’ll explain, and that is still giving me fits.

I try to take nothing for granted. For some people it is probably a no brainer to have a couple hurricane kerosene lanterns on hand, and I’m sure a lot of you have at least one Coleman white gas lantern with mantles. But did you know that both of both of those will work with much more common fuels, and have you thought about whether you should store some extra wicks and mantles? How long does fuel last? How cheap can you get extra lanterns, and what is the best choice for fuel conservation? There are also some really good and cheap LED options for survival lighting these days as well. So for this week we take a opportunity to consider a few inexpensive approaches to light. There is a pretty good chance you will want to see at night once the lights go out. And you may feel confident that you have a plan for emergency lighting, but what will you do when the lights go out for good?