Shooting Essentials

WARNING:  This video contains some coarse content.

For all you folks that have been trained in traditional firearm handling methods there are some new, essential techniques you need to know.  Although many of you may never be in a situation where these techniques are necessary, it is better to know them and not need them than to need them and not know them.

I present to you......Gangster shooting essentials!

Spring Awakening

I love the renewing life spring breathes into Little Shouse on the Prairie.  After a long winter slumber, we throw the doors open wide and welcome the rejuvenating spring air.

See the hive box we used as a coffee table?

A number of years ago, Sir Knight added a little "sun room" onto the front our our shop. Every year since then, I have dressed the sun room to encourage the very best of outdoor living.

The kids love to sleep here on hot summer nights!

Oh, the feeling of sheer luxury we enjoy when we take our tea in the cool spring breeze of the sun room!

And from the outside....

Thanks for coming for a visit!

Young Men & Gray Heads

We live in a area surrounded (albeit sparsely) by neighbors.  Many are elderly, without family close-by and often in need of a bit of help.  One dear little old lady is a phenomenal gardener with a weathered face and leather tough hands.  As active and strong as she is, she is frustratingly incapable of doing simple things like tuning up her lawn mower every spring or repairing her rototiller.  Unloading a pickup full of saw chips, which in her younger years would have only constituted a couple of hours work is now an insurmountable task.  Our neighbor, whose knowledge in all things growing is unparalleled, has lived to see her body betray her while her mind remains yet keen.  She is at a point in her life when the wisdom of her years yearns to be complimented with the strength of youth.

Our children are young.  They are strong and capable.  Their strength and energy require an outlet.  We could direct them to a video game or an amusement park.  We could encourage them to spend their youth pursuing self-fulfillment and taking every advantage of their "carefree" years.  We think there is a better way.

Children and young adults have so much to learn about life.  They haven't lived long enough to have gained wisdom and insight - they need older, wiser people for that.  They long to be useful - to be competent and needed.  And they don't get that from video games, television or amusement parks.  They don't learn to be self-sacrificing, productive members of society by ordering their lives to serve themselves.

As the weather turns warm, our phone rings off the hook.  "May I speak to Master Hand Grenade?", "Is Miss Serenity available?", "I have a job that I think Princess Dragon Snack would be perfect for...". - our neighbors, calling on the strength of our children.  It is the best of both worlds, our children lend their youth and strength to our neighbors in exchange for a little bit of their wisdom.  It is the perfect symbiotic relationship - the old and the young, working shoulder to shoulder, head to head.

"Mrs. Brown" (our dear little old lady neighbor) has been mowing her lawn, thanks to Master Hand Grenade's thorough mechanic work, and the carburetor will soon be replaced on her rototiller, allowing her to begin spring garden work.  The saw chips have been carefully spread throughout her garden beds (thank you Miss Serenity) and her raspberry patch has been well-weeded.

It is not only "Mrs. Brown" who reaps the benefit of working with our children - it is our children who reap the benefit of working with "Mrs. Brown".  Miss Serenity has had the opportunity to learn about gardening from one of the best gardeners in our area.  Master Hand Grenade has learned much about small engine mechanics as he has striven to keep "Mrs. Brown's" equipment in good running order.  They have learned that serving others is always more satisfying than serving themselves.  They have acquired skills and discipline that will serve them throughout their entire lives.

Youth is not a time to obsessively cater to self-gratification.  Youth is the time to lay the foundation for life.  And the foundation that is built in youth is the foundation that forms our families and our nation.  Build well.

Godspeed, Uncle Jack

Uncle Jack looking at Dad askance

Last week, my wonderful uncle won his battle against cancer.  He was gently led by his Father into eternity.  Today, his wife, mother, sons and grandsons lay him to rest surrounded by a family large and friends innumerable.  My dear uncle has been gathered unto his people.

Death, as with birth, gives us pause for thought.  It makes us consider our fragile humanity and contemplate life eternal.  It also causes us to take stock of our most valuable possessions - our family. Death gives life to the verse "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also", Matthew 6:21.  For our family, this year has seen many  treasures stored in heaven.

Much more than wealth or possessions, these are our treasures.....

My grandparents and parents teaching my children to do-si-do

What generation gap?

Grandma adoring grandpa

Maid Elizabeth & Master Calvin

My children, husband and father - all playing in the woods together!

Miss Serenity

Master Calvin and his trusty side-kick

Our very own Princess Dragon Snack

My beautiful mother and my lovely children

These are my eternal treasures!

A Nation Undone

We are a nation seeking liberty. But not the liberty that you would think.  Although we will tell you that we are freedom loving, ruggedly independent, hard working, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps kind of folks, nothing could be further from the truth.  We are a nation of mere peasants, offering obeisance to the king in exchange for scraps from his table.

Oh, we seek liberty, but not the liberty to be free from the constraints of tyranny.  We seek the liberty to collect regular welfare payments, state provided health care and housing assistance.  We scream foul about not being part of the "1%"  while refusing to rouse ourselves from in front of the television long enough to hold down a job.  We bellyache and complain about government spending and frivolous excess, while we mortgage our souls for new cars and designer handbags.

It is easy to look at our leaders and blame the mess that is our nation on them.  But they are nothing more than a microcosm of "we the people".  We are an undisciplined, self-indulgent generation who demands to have it's cake and eat it, too.  We hold our government to a standard that we do not expect of ourselves.

This cannot be.  The only way to right a nation is to right its people.  The responsibility for this nation is yours.  And it's mine.  If we intend to become slaves, we are well on our way.  When we give up the liberty of maintaining our own employment or paying our own debt and instead rely on the "king" to provide for us, we have moved from the realm of freeman to the realm of slave.  When we accept "benefits" and "assistance" from the state, we give the state authority over our person.  And that authority comes with too high a price.

We ought to be a nation seeking liberty. But we need to be seeking the liberty to make our own way, make our own mistakes and work through our own consequences.  If we expect our leaders to guide this country with wisdom and discipline then we need to live our lives with wisdom and discipline.  And then, perhaps, we can begin to heal a Nation Undone.

For Sale: Thriving Home Business

SOLD - PENDING FUNDS

A number of months back I mentioned scaling back on the blog - or even discontinuing it altogether.  After a lot of consideration, Sir Knight and I have come to the conclusion that something has to give, but it won't be the blog (or the book), but the business - Naturally Cozy.

I began Naturally Cozy (reusable feminine hygiene and incontinence products) 4 years ago with a sewing machine and a dream.  Little by little, the orders came in, 1 or 2 at a time, and then by the handful.  Soon, my inbox was overflowing with orders and I have seen my little business blossom into a thriving home business, keeping myself and many others busier than we could have ever imagined.

As the years have sped by, we have gotten progressively busier.  Due to the increase in business over the past couple of years, my other duties have began to suffer.  I'm not doing any of my jobs as well as I would like.  I have re-evaluated my priorities and have come to realize that my job as wife and mother comes before any other.

And so, we are selling Naturally Cozy.  If you are interested in moving to the hinterboonies and need a thriving, mail-order, preparedness oriented home-based business, I encourage you to email me for details on Naturally Cozy.  I will be selling the business name, along with the URL, patterns, existing stock, an established customer base, (almost) free advertising on the unparalleled SurvivalBlog and 1 year of free advertising on Paratus Familia Blog. For more details and information, please email me at naturallycozy@rezmail.com.

Naturally Cozy is ready to be expanded.  Maybe you are just the person to do it.

Training with the Ghost

REDACTED

As I have mentioned before, it seems to me that there are two very distinct type of "Preppers" - those who want to buy all of the cool gear and talk about prepping, and those who want to get their hands dirty and REALLY prepare.  Sir Knight and I want to stand firmly in the latter classification.  And so, in that vein, numerous members of our little clan spent the weekend training with John Mosby, "The Ghost", AKA xxxxx  xxxxxxxx.

John Mosby has what he calls a "Combat Rifle".  This was a three day event, held in xxxxxxxxx, Idaho, commonly known as xxxx  xxxxxxxx, which included everything from dry fire drills and trigger controls to a live fire exercise in the dark.  We mentioned this class in "10 Things to do Until the Revolution", and we knew we had to give it a try.

Acquiring a target while moving forward

First of all, let me say - this is like no class you have probably every attended.  Despite being hard work (12 hours days in biting wind and cold, and even snow) it was a tremendous experience.  If you are an expert at the "Fighting Carbine", I almost guarantee you will learn something new in this class.  If you are a beginner, this will be more than instructive - it will be critical.  I believe, especially for the beginner, this course could very well safe your life and those of the people you love.

Runnin' and Gunnin'

About the instructor:  This is a link to his website - Mountain Guerrilla.  When you read his blog, you'll find that his language may not seem family friendly, however, when we took the course, there were several young "juniors" attending and no foul language.  Believe it or not, this is a family affair.  If your whole family has the notion, you can bring your wife and your children (of appropriate age).  John is very patient with children (the only shouting is over the sound of the shooting and he doesn't do the whole "drill instructor" thing) and the other students are so pleased to have youth in their midst that they go out of their way to be kind and helpful.  Juniors come out of this class competent and confident in their handling of firearms.  Any exotic weapons brought to the class will be demonstrated and any interested parties will be allowed to examine the weapons and possibly fire them.

This isn't Hollywood - you actually have to reload (on the fly)

A father encouraging his son

Suggested gear and equipment is listed on his blog as follows:

Combat Rifle: A three-day class designed to teach you the reality of fighting with the modern fighting rifle or carbine, at realistic combat ranges from 0-300+ meters, under combative conditions. You will learn to run your gun with or without optics, how to perform common combat weaponcraft tasks under stress, and how to keep your gun running in field environments. This will also cover the effective set-up of an effective and efficient fighting weapon.

Equipment requirements include:

Students provide their own ammo: 500-1000 rounds of rifle ammunition (more is recommended)  Editor's Note:  Due to the price of ammunition, John has adjusted the round count on this training to 400 rounds per student.

Hardware – A functional and practical carbine or battle rifle chambered in a fighting caliber, with a mounted white light. If available, a spare weapon system is also an excellent idea. A cleaning kit and tools that are compatible with the weapon system(s) in question is also a must. Each student should have a minimum of 5 working magazines.

• Note pad, and pen/pencil
• Clothing suited to strenuous activity as well as being seasonally appropriate
• Rain gear / cold weather gear (seasonal)
• Ear pro (electronic preferred) / Eye pro
• Baseball style hat recommended
• Proper belt to support equipment
• Carbine magazine pouches, Battle belt, or Chest rig
• Tools that work on your weapon
• Weapons lube
• hydration
• Knee and elbow pads (optional)
• Gloves (optional)
• An open mind

A few notes on the gear list - gloves and knee pads are not optional!  You may also find that the gear you planned on using is wholly inadequate or does not fit properly or does not allow proper movement.  Prepare to rethink your gear in the middle of this class!  Another thing that is not optional is the open mind.  You must be willing to learn new methods and procedures.  If you have been to Appleseed or other traditional firearms courses that use "Camp Perry" style shooting, you are going to be shocked and amazed at your ability to acquire targets with the speed and accuracy learned through this course.

Transitioning to secondary weapon - pistol

xxxxxxx, where this class is facilitated, is primitive.  Bring toilet paper and your own e-tool.  Plan on bringing weather appropriate clothing and shelter and adequate food stuffs to last your three day excursion.  Facilities are rough but well worth the privation.

And then again, you may say, "We don't want to travel to xxxxxxx, Idaho".  Not to worry, John Mosby will come to you.  If you have a group or even a large family that would like to take this excellent rifle course, he will travel to you (for a fee, of course).  You will need to contact him directly for pricing and scheduling availability, although, I must admit, I found his prices to be more than fair.

I can't express how much we enjoyed this course.  While the course itself was outstanding, the new skills are perishable.  Use them!  John will teach you what you need to know, but it is up to you to develop your skill.  Many of the drills can be conducted under dry-fire conditions, which should be used to improve trigger control.  One more important note - this class is about fundamentals of shooting.  Seal Team Six will not be calling you to sit in on one of their missions after three days at this class.  But, this course should not be missed if it can be helped.

As of Tuesday, I am still a little sore!  To quote John Mosby "Get that gun back in the fight!".