Gun & Prepping News #86

 Some links that may be of interest:

• "Dollars Per Mile: Long Range Rifles for the Rest of Us"--Recoil. The author describes a rifle he put together for shooting out to one mile which final cost (including optic) of  $4,974.
• If you think that is expensive.... "American SA80: The British Problem Child Reborn In The USA"--Recoil. An American company is attempting to produce copies of the SA80. And it will only set you back $12,000. 
• "Taurus RPC Review: MP5 Feel Under $1,000"--Guns America. A roller delayed 9mm large format pistol:

The receiver is aluminum with a serialized steel chassis. The barrel is steel, 4.5 inches long, and threaded 1/2×28 for direct suppressor mounting. A thread protector ships standard. The gun includes a full-length Picatinny top rail, M-LOK slots on both sides and the bottom of the handguard, a flat-face single-stage trigger, and an AR-15-compatible grip, which means any standard AR grip drops straight in, a detail Taurus got right.

• "Is the VZ 58 A Good AK Alternative? Personal Experience"--The Firearm Blog. The author relates:

 VZ58 is incredibly lightweight for what it is; it is more accurate than many AKs and has a bolt hold-open mechanism. But the unfortunate reality is - in the 21st century, VZ 58 faced the same problems as AK. Mounting accessories is hard and requires serious modifications.

• "Accurized AK-103 - the 7.62x39mm AK-103 Upgrade Program to AK-203"--The Firearm Blog. 
• ".300 AAC Blackout: History, Ballistics, and Ammo Selection"--Mag Life. An excerpt:

    Both the 5.56 NATO and .300 Blackout use the same case. However, the 5.56 NATO utilizes a .224-inch diameter projectile, which is noticeably smaller than the .300 Blackout’s .308-inch bullet.

    At close ranges, .300 Blk offers superior ballistics and higher muzzle energy, whereas 5.56 produces higher velocities and less drop, as well as improved performance at distances past 300 yards. Additionally, .300 Blackout delivers retained terminal performance with short barrels (especially between 8 to 11 inches), and it offers close to a 90 percent increase in frontal area.

    The main determining factors that will affect your decision between the two will likely be your intended engagement distance and the overall cost of ammunition. .300 Blackout ammo can typically be twice as much as comparable 5.56, making volume training much more difficult. However, you may decide that the benefits of the .300 Blk easily justify the increase in cost.

    Today, the .300 Blk has excelled in hunting, defensive, and competitive shooting applications, with a wide variety of manufacturers offering ammunition tailored to specific uses. 

• "Federal's New 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak: The Peak Alloy Case Goes Mainstream"--American Rifleman. 

    In American Rifleman's 2025 coverage of the new Federal 7 mm Backcountry cartridge, much of the story wasn't as much about the new chambering as it was about the cartridge case itself, a case that Federal called its "Peak Alloy" design. The single-piece, all-steel cartridge case, in the words of Federal Managing Engineer Jake Burns, "acts as its own mini pressure-containment vessel, absorbing some of the energy without cracking or stretching. That’s part of the case’s ability to manage pressure." Now, that design has moved from a proprietary chambering to the mainstream cartridge world with the introduction of Federal's new 6.5 Creedmoor +Peak.

[snip]

     At the heart of this ammunition revolution is the one-piece Peak Alloy cartridge case design, which Federal says can safely handle chamber pressures of 80,000 psi compared with the SAAMI-MAP of 62,000 psi chamber pressures of similarly configured brass cartridge cases. ...

• "USSOCOM's HICAR Program Wants to Double the M4's Effective Range"--The Firearm Blog. The article begins:

    The Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane has quietly posted one of the more interesting small arms solicitations in recent memory. The Hypervelocity Improved Capability Assault Rifle program, HICAR for short, is USSOCOM's ask for a carbine that can do something current M4-based platforms simply cannot: reach out past 600 meters with a standard 5.56mm package, without making operators carry anything heavier or bulkier than what they're already running.

    The core problem the government seems to be trying to solve is the range gap. The current URG-I (Upper Receiver Group - Improved), which sits on most SOCOM M4A1 lowers today, is optimized for standard 5.56 NATO and tops out at a practical effective range of around 300 meters. That's fine for a lot of situations, but it leaves a hole on the modern battlefield where adversaries can engage from distances where the round simply runs out of steam. HICAR is meant to close that gap by leveraging next-generation hypervelocity 5.56x45mm ammunition, specifically M855A1+ loaded to 82,000 PSI chamber pressure, a significant step up from standard loads.

The author concludes with this question: "Do you think there is any currently available carbine platform genuinely built to handle sustained fire with ammunition loaded to 82kpsi, or will every vendor need a clean-sheet bolt and barrel design to compete?" Perhaps this is a program that can benefit from the Peak Alloy case. 

• "Concealed Carry Corner: Does Size Really Matter?"--The Firearm Blog.  The author argues that it is weight not size that is the issue:

When it comes to being comfortable long-term while carrying a handgun, the real culprit is how much your handgun weighs. Having an all-steel or metal-framed firearm can speed up how fast you become fatigued, rather than the overall size of your handgun. Looking at the Glock 43X versus the longer Glock 48 variant, both feel almost identical to carry, with the Glock 48 having a longer barrel than the smaller Glock 43X. Everyone likes to stress about overall size, but the weight of a handgun will make you fatigue and become uncomfortable faster than anything else.  

I can guarantee that if the something the same weight as the 43X or 48 was a foot long, size would matter. 

• "OSD 373: Guns suck, drone edition"--Open Source Defense. Drones are the next generation of defensive tools. 
• "FGC-9 bedroom factory discovered"--Impro Guns.  
• "No Gunpowder, No Recoil: Electromagnetic Guns Are Here!"--Guns America. Covering some recent developments and products in civilian rail guns, but there is also this:

    According to the report, China has already moved beyond prototypes and into early deployment of a handheld electromagnetic small arm, with adjustable power levels that can range from non-lethal applications up to armor-penetrating capability, including the ability to punch through 10mm steel at 50 meters in high-power mode.

    Performance-wise, it’s pushing 1,000–2,000 rounds per minute, minimal recoil, low noise (around 65 decibels), and no visible muzzle signature, features that would clearly matter in specialized operations. 

• "Front Line Friday #20: In-Car First Aid and Trauma Kit Configuration"--The Firearm Blog. Aimed at law enforcement, but of obvious interest to preppers, the article describes going beyond the IFAK to something that can be used to treat a number of people, such as victims of a mass shooting or a multiple casualties from auto accidents. As the article explains:

    The issued IFAK solves a specific problem: one officer, one patient, one acute hemorrhage or airway event, immediate intervention. It is sized and configured to be carried on the body, which means the contents list is constrained by what fits on a belt or a vest panel and what an officer can access one-handed under stress. Those constraints are correct for the problem the IFAK is designed to solve. They are the wrong constraints for what a patrol vehicle medical kit needs to do.

    The vehicle kit operates in a different scenario envelope. It is not a backup IFAK. It is a second-tier capability that extends the officer's ability to manage trauma before EMS arrives, support multiple patients, supply arriving officers or bystanders rendering aid, and hand off organized resources to EMS so they can move faster upon arrival on scene. A vehicle kit that is just a larger IFAK is missing the point. A vehicle kit that is organized around that handoff function, stocked for multi-patient scenarios, and configured so items can be located and retrieved in low light and under stress is doing what it is supposed to do.

• "Geiger Counter CPM Readings: Safe vs Dangerous Radiation Levels"--Modern Survival Blog. From the article:

    CPM stands for counts per minute, but CPM alone is not a universal “safe” or “dangerous” number. It depends on the detector, tube size, calibration, radiation type, distance from the source, and exposure time.

    Still, if your meter uses the example conversion used in this article, 120 CPM ≈ 1 µSv/hr, then 500 CPM ≈ 4.2 µSv/hr, 1000 CPM ≈ 8.3 µSv/hr, 4000 CPM ≈ 33 µSv/hr, and 10000 CPM ≈ 83 µSv/hr. Those readings are elevated compared with typical background dose rates and should be taken seriously, especially if sustained.

The author presents a chart addressing different CPM levels and when it becomes worrisome or dangerous. He also goes into more detail on how radiation exposure is measured, health risks, shielding for different types of radioactive radiation and more. 

• "How to Maintain and Care for Your Field Jacket So It Lasts for Years"--Propper. Specific instructions for caring for, cleaning, and proper storage of the M65 field jacket. For instance, for storage, the article says to avoid "[p]lastic vacuum bags that crease fabric Damp basements or unventilated closets." Best practice for storage: "For long-term storage in garages or sheds, use a sealed metal container with red cedar shavings. This will keep the insects and rodents away."
• "VHF vs. UHF Handheld Radios: Which Is Better?"--Modern Survival Blog.  Short answer:

    VHF handheld radios generally have an advantage for longer-distance communication across open outdoor terrain, especially in rural areas and over water. UHF handheld radios generally work better around buildings, inside structures, and in urban environments because their shorter wavelengths are better suited to passing through or around many common obstructions.

    In the woods, there is no universal winner. Forest density, hills, antenna quality, radio height, and line of sight can matter more than the frequency band alone.

    For hiking, hunting, or property communications, the best approach is to understand the general tradeoffs and test both bands in your actual environment.

Countries Do Not Have Friends, Only Interests

From the Daily Mail: "Netanyahu secretly plotting to TORPEDO Trump's Iran peace deal in intelligence bombshell." From the lede:

    US spy agencies have warned Donald Trump that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to torpedo his fragile peace deal with Iran to save his own political skin.

    Netanyahu, who faces a general election in the fall, is expected to escalate strikes on Iran's proxy terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon to shore up support at home, a fresh intelligence report warns.

    An official familiar with the report told the Washington Post that Israel's leadership is frustrated with Trump's 14-point plan and what it sees as a capitulation to Tehran. 

And then there is this bit from the article:

 'For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep,' Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's minister of national security, shockingly posted on Friday. 'All of Lebanon must burn!'  

It would be an understandable sentiment if it were directed at Hezbollah, but all of Lebanon? What did the Lebanese Christians do to Israel? Israel drove the Palestinians into southern Lebanon after the 1948 war and now want to destroy Lebanon for it?

More:

• "Conflict erupts in Lebanon between Israel, Hezbollah — just hours after 2 sides reach critical truce"--New York Post. 
• "Fed-up Trump threatens to ‘blow the s–t’ out of Iran — prompting Tehran to storm out of US peace talks"--New York Post. 

The Lies They Tell Us: Famine and the 1985 Live Aid Concert

If you were alive in 1985 and paying attention to the main stream media's reporting of the Ethiopian famine, or were subjected to later history lessons of the same, you probably never heard the full backstory of the famine or where the money went afterward. No Pasaran delves into this topic in a piece entitled: "Live Aid 1985: What Nobody Tells You About the African Famine that Led to the Most-Watched Concert in History." 

    Although the immediate cause of the famine was a drought, it should surprise no one that the reason Ethiopia suffered more than its neighbors was because of its government. Specifically, "in September 1974, a Marxist-Leninist military junta called the Derg overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie. By 1977, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam had killed his rivals inside the junta and taken sole control." Mariam "built a Soviet-style state. He nationalized all rural land in 1975 and imposed grain quotas that peasants had to deliver to the state at prices below the cost of production." Consequently, when the drought struck, there was no surplus from earlier years, and the people starved. 

 This is the mechanism Stalin had used to engineer famine in Ukraine in 1932. The state destroys the production incentive, then extracts grain by force. When drought arrived in northern Ethiopia in 1983, there was no surplus and no buffer. Forced collectivization had already destroyed the country's food reserves years before the rain stopped.   

In short: "The famine that produced the most-watched concert in history was caused by forced collectivization, forced grain seizures, and a deliberate policy of using hunger as a weapon against civilians. Four decades later, that half of the story still does not appear in most accounts of Live Aid."

    But it gets even worse. The money raised by Live Aid was used to fund Mariam's military and, therefore, financed his killing between 50,000 and 100,000 of the Ethiopian people. 

    Yet another example of liberals being more concerned about their public image than actually helping people. 

Fauci Was With Intelligence

 Legal Insurrection goes over the latest batch of declassified files from the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard: "Declassified Files Ignite New Scrutiny of Fauci, COVID Origins, and Alleged Intelligence Suppression." The high level summary:

    Gabbard’s release of information related to biological research funded by the U.S. government continued this Friday, after she declassified a cache of documents outlining Dr. Anthony Fauci’s involvement in the COVID-19 response, including records indicating that federal officials shielded him from a whistleblower complaint alleging he misled Congress about “gain-of-function” work after publicly advancing a natural-origin theory for a pandemic that ultimately claimed millions of lives.

    The documents and whistleblower testimony appear to show that Fauci influenced intelligence assessments on COVID-19 origins, denied such involvement under oath in 2024, and benefited from close ties to the intelligence community that limited scrutiny. They further claim a pattern of retaliation against dissenting intelligence officials and suppression of alternative viewpoints regarding the virus’s origins.

RPG Saturday: The Arcanum

 

    The battered book from above is titled The Arcanum, first published in 1984, which was supposed to be the first volume of a three part series called The Atlantean Trilogy. The other volumes were The Lexicon and The Bestiary. The three were intended to be a complete fantasy role playing game system and setting; and to serve as supplements for other games (i.e., D&D since it was, like today, the overwhelmingly most popular RPG of the time). 

    The Arcanum was the rule book for the Trilogy, containing rules on character creation and the game mechanics, including combat; and detailed rules for magic (including spell lists) and alchemy. The Lexicon was described as "the complete atlas of the antediluvian age" containing "detailed maps of the legendary continents, countries, and cities of the Atlantian World, plus information on trade routes, the history of Atlantis' First and Second Ages, and much more ...".  And The Bestiary, as the name indicates, was "a compendium of the fantastic beings and creatures of the Atlantean age."

    I probably purchased The Arcanum book in 1984, because there were some problems with the editing which were quickly corrected in a second edition released in 1985. Some of the issues were inconsistencies between rules in different parts of the text and references to skills that apparently never made it into the final product. Nevertheless, the issues were not insurmountable. I never purchased (or even came across copies) of the other two books until much later.  

    My interest in the book was originally for use as a supplement, particularly the rules on alchemy (of which D&D had virtually none) and the expanded list of character classes (of which D&D only had a handful). I had thoughts of trying to use the rules, but I don't believe I actually had an opportunity to do so while still in high school. It was only years later, after I was married, that I was able to get a group together and give it a shot and it worked fairly well. I still did not have the other two books, so I used my own setting and borrowed monsters from D&D.

 

    Eventually, I found a PDF of The Bestiary from 1986 which I printed up and crudely bound (see the photo above) but have never come across a copy of The Lexicon. 

    My oldest son at one time expressed an interest in The Arcanum, and in trying to track down a copy, discovered that the author had published a 30th Anniversary edition of the game, incorporating the rules from The Arcanum and the contents of The Bestiary into a single volume published in 2019. There was a third edition that apparently was published in 1996 by a different game company. 

 

    According to the author's forward, this 30th Edition uses the rules from the second and third editions. But the rights to the artwork and the setting (i.e., The Lexicon) are owned by another company and so, necessarily, not included.  However, much of the layout has been rethought and other edits made to correct errors and make the book more usable. 

     But there have been other changes I've spotted. For instance, the first edition has 8 character races/species, while the 30th Anniversary book has 10. However, one of the races from the first edition--Druas--is missing from the 30th Anniversary book, while it adds gnomes, halflings, and selkies. 

     The first edition illustrated the various races and professions, but had little in way of illustrations beyond that. Most of the illustrations were simple pen and ink drawings, but there were a few larger pieces that appeared to be charcoal and pencil. 

    This 30th Anniversary edition has many more illustrations, also pen and ink, but the style is very different. For instance, below are the illustrations for elves from both books, the first edition on top and the 30th Anniversary edition below:

 

 

And as between the 1986 version of The Bestiary (the top illustration) and the 30th Anniversary Edition (the bottom) looking at the illustrations of undead skeleton warriors as an example:

 

Unfortunately, not all of the creatures or beasts are illustrated in either edition.

    The rules for these games are definitely old school, but differ from other games from the 1980s like AD&D or  Basic D&D. Although this game uses similar attributes (strength, speed, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, will, charisma, and perception) with the same basic range of 3 to 18 for a starting character, and professions which are largely analogous to the character "class" system in D&D, it is also a skill based rule system. Although D&D was limited to just a handful of character classes (i.e., professions or callings), The Arcanum had 27 total professions, all of which were compatible with or easily transferred to D&D. 

    Professions are also categorized as to whether the characters in those careers are "untrained fighters", "skilled fighters", or "highly trained fighters". This is important both for gaining hit points and because "skilled" and "highly trained" characters gain "to hit" and "damage" bonuses as they reach certain levels in their Professions.

    Character creation in the first edition follows these steps: (i) selecting a character race; (ii) selecting a professions; (iii) selecting a background (which gives certain skills and, potentially, other benefits); and (iv) determining attributes. What skills a character has is a matter of his background and his career. As a character advances in a career (that is, achieves higher levels) he or she will obtain additional skills. Professions may also special abilities. 

    It appears that character creation is similar in the 30th Anniversary Edition. 

    Because this game system uses skills, much of the rules are found in the skill descriptions. For example, the skill "Evade Pursuit" describes the skill as "the ability to confound pursuers by moving with speed and stealth, leaving false trails, etc." And it gives rules for the chance of success (rolled with a percentile dice) and modifiers if he or she is being pursued by someone skilled in tracking. Of course, that is a basic skill rules. Some of the skills have tables or much more detailed rules to determine whether the character is successful. And others grant certain abilities, such as the skill "weapon training" or "weapon" allows a untrained character to use a weapon without the non-proficiency penalty, but grants no other special rules or options.

     Combat is fairly straightforward. Players roll a 1d20 and their role plus (or minus) applicable modifiers equals or exceeds 11, they hit their target. If a character has a non-proficiency penalty, the sum of their roll and modifiers is divided by two before determining a success. Characters can also employ special tactics such as making an "unarmed attack", seek a "specific hit" (i.e., a special attack allowing special effect or dealing double damage) but with their odds of a successful hit halved; or defensive tactics such as dodging or parrying a blow, taking evasive action, etc. Cover makes it more difficult to hit someone with a missile weapon, and there are other modifiers depending on the character's attributes or due to situational factors (e.g., it truly is easier to hit something as large as a barn door). 

    Unlike D&D where armor makes it more difficult to strike a target, this game uses armor to subtract from damage. Of course, the amount of damage that can be dealt depends on the weapon. For instance, a dagger might only deal 1d6 of damage while a long sword will cause 1d10 of damage. 

    I don't generally like playing magic users, but this is a fantasy role playing game after all and, so, there are various spell casting professions such as magicians, shamans, witches, sorcerers, etc. Besides, in combat, with the right spells, a magic user essentially acts like a support weapon, able to deal heavy damage but only for a limited number of rounds. 

    Unlike D&D, where a magic user must relearn spells each time he wants to case one--the act of casting a spell erases it from memory--this game does not have a similar limitation. Rather, the character is limited to casting a certain number of spells per day based on his level, or else resort to using a magic item or casting from a scroll. 

   In addition to, or as a supplement to, the magic system, the game also has detailed rules on alchemy, which actually covers everything from making herbal remedies to poisons to potions. There are also rules covering the manufacture of magical devices or magical/alchemical processes. 

    So the basic question is whether this game would be worthwhile playing today. It is "old school" in a real sense that there is no universal resolution system. Many skills and checks are determined by rolling a percentile die, while combat uses 1d20 with a target number of 11+, and there are many tables that have to be consulted for other matters. That said, it is no harder to use than the first edition AD&D, and offers more options for players. I think if someone were looking for an old school style of play and a game to go with it, this game would work well. 

    The options make it easy to customize for a particular setting as well. For instance, if you wanted something like Middle-Earth or classic D&D, you could limit characters to being humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings, and go with that. If you want something different, ditch the elves, dwarves, and halflings and use the other races included; or just limit the characters to humans. The variety of professions also allow you to have a balanced party such as D&D encourages for general adventuring. But if you wanted a campaign focused on rogues, you could have a party of various rogue type characters (charlatan, rogue, spy, pirate); or an outdoor type party could be made made up of a beastmaster, hunter, and druid. Similar theme, but different enough abilities that the characters are not just copies of one another.  

    The 30th Anniversary Edition is still available from LuLu for $39.99 which is pretty good for a complete game. 

VIDEOS: The World Of The Ice Age And The Younger Dryas

The world we live in is very different from the one that existed just 15,000 years ago. The first video below brings together a lot of disparate information and presents it as a whole concerning what Earth was like just before the end of the last Ice Age--lower sea levels exposing huge areas of land in Europe and South-East Asia and north of Australia that is, today, underwater. A green Sahara covered with grasslands, lakes, and a network of rivers. A dryer Amazon that was more open scrub land rather than impenetrable jungle. CO2 levels so low that many of the crops we use for food would not prosper. 

Of course the Ice Age came to an end, but just as the Earth was warming, the Younger Dryas happened, throwing the northern hemisphere back into a deep Ice Age for 1,000 years before just as abruptly ending. The second video discusses some theories as to what caused the Younger Dryas including the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH), although he leaves out one of the most important bits of evidence: the Carolina Bays and similar structures stretching westward into the heartland of America which record a wide swath of secondary impacts, likely from debris thrown out by the Younger Dryas Impact Event. Antonio Zamora has a YouTube channel devoted to studying the Carolina Bays and the YDIH which I recommend if you have further interest in the topic. Here is the link to an older video from Zamora covering the primary hypothesis that the Carolina Bays are evidence of an impact event. 

 VIDEO: "The Ice Age World You Don't See"
Curtis Holland | Reviewing the Record (21 min.)

 

 VIDEO: "The Younger Dryas: The Last Great Mystery Before Modern History"
Curtis Holland | Reviewing the Record (21 min.)

Interesting. Plague Outbreak 5,500 Years Ago

Ars Technica reports that "Hunter-gatherers in Siberia died of a plague outbreak 5,500 years ago." The article relates that "[p]lague swept through groups of hunter-gatherers in southeastern Siberia 5,500 years ago, leaving dozens dead in its wake—with DNA from Yersinia pestis bacteria still trapped inside their teeth." A few points:

• The reason this is significant is because the previously belief was that the plague only became deadly to humans after humans had settled in communities living in close association with rats or other animals that were hosts to the fleas carrying the Y. pestis bacterium. But this outbreak was among hunter gatherers. Thus, not only was close and long term contact not needed to produce a plague deadly to humans, but something that was as deadly as later plagues had already arisen much earlier than believed possible.
• The article indicates that the plague DNA was extracted from "plague victims at four ancient cemeteries in the area around Russia’s Lake Baikal." This is significant because it seems to be part of the large marmot based plague reservoir. Lake Baikal is in Russia, just north of central Mongolia. The 14th Century plague was traced back to the Lake Issyk Kul, which is in modern day eastern Kyrgyzstan. Not exceptionally close, but both part of the natural range of marmots in Central Asia (see the map below).
• Finally, the article indicates that "Bubonic plague spreads through flea bites, but pneumonic plague is a respiratory disease, which spreads in a similar way to the flu or COVID-19, and that seems to be how this early version would have passed from person to person." This is also what made the 14th Century Black Death so deadly and allowed it spread so quickly. It didn't need or use fleas once it became pneumonic. 

Perhaps this particular outbreak was largely contained simply because there were not the extensive trade routes and number of people as in the 14th Century, but it would be interesting to know how far the plague spread from this 5,500 B.C. event. My suspicions are that if we were to ever see another plague outbreak comparable to the Black Death, it will also originate in this Central Asian marmot reservoir.

Lake Baikal is the largest lake just above Mongolia in this map, while Lake Issyk Kul is the only lake you can see in Kyrgyzstan in this map. (Source)

VIDEO: Water Kit For A Team Or Family

Prepared Airman shows that he uses in the field to supply water for a team. It should also work for a family that enjoys backpacking, camping in unimproved campgrounds without potable water, or even for a group that is bugging out. You will notice that despite the filters used for providing the group with water, he also uses a Grayl Geopress for personal use. The thing about the Geopress, though, is that it can quickly process water--much faster than other personal systems--so if you had to you could use it to supply water to a group over a short period of time. The limitation is the filter life, which is why you might want to go with some other filters for a large group or for an extended period of time. (See this video testing various water filters).

 VIDEO: "The Water Kit That Keeps a Team Alive: My Water Kit for the Field"
PreparedAirman (13 min.)

Weekend Reading #61

Some longer and more involved reading for the weekend:

• First up is Jon Low's most recent Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter.  I'll start with this always good reminder of  John Farnam's rules of self-defense:  
  • Don’t go to stupid places.  
  • Don’t associate with stupid people.  
  • Don’t do stupid things.  
  • Have a “normal” appearance.  
  • Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).  
  • Don’t fail the attitude test.  
   Some other topics of interest:
• John writes:

     Autonomic Nervous System responses are not just to recoil and report, they are also in anticipation of recoil and report.  That's why we, disciples of Jeff Cooper, teach the surprise trigger break.  The surprise break defeats all autonomic nervous system responses (jerk, flinch, freeze, push, etc.) by not allowing the brain to know exactly when the recoil and report will occur.  

    Any ANS responses occur after the bullet has exited the muzzle.  

     If you intentionally, consciously, make your pistol fire, you will induce ANS responses.  The trick / secret / technique is to:  

1.  Take the slack out of the trigger.  

2.  Smoothly increase pressure on the trigger.  Do not fire the pistol.  Just increase pressure by repeating your mantra, "Keep pressing, keep pressing, keep pressing, . . . "  [Thanks to Kaery Dudenhofer.  A lot of research and experimentation went into developing this mantra.]

3.  Eventually, the pistol will fire.  But, because you did not intentionally fire the pistol, there will be no ANS responses to disturb your shot.  The responses will occur after the bullet has exited the muzzle.  
So, the bullets will go where you aimed them (if your pistol is zeroed).  

     "This sounds like magic to me."  

     Yes, any sufficiently advanced technology will appear to be magic to the ignorant.  The human is God's masterpiece of creation, extremely advanced technology, far beyond the comprehension of man.  

     When students achieve the surprise break, they shoot one hole groups at 3 yards (some as far as 5 yards).  This direct feedback causes an epiphany.  It's not like riding a bicycle.  Once learned, it can be forgotten.  But it's easier to achieve the next time, because you know what you're searching for.  

     "This is a long complex process.  I won't have time to recite a mantra in combat."  

     With dedicated practice, the process will compress in time and become very fast.  

     Of course, the surprise break is only a small part of the shot process, which is only a small part of the tactical exercise, which is only a small part of the scenario.  Real scenarios are surprising.  No command to "Load and make ready".  No checking to see if you're "Ready?"  No authority ordering you to use lethal force.  You must take responsibility.    

•  Just as there are different schools of martial arts, there are different schools of shooting techniques. Jon has this to say about it:

     At dinner, after Farnam's Rifle class, a gentleman said that he had taken a lot of firearms training classes and that he had found most of the stuff that was taught in the U.S. by competent instructors is the same.  Only about 10% is different.  And that the differences were not significant.  So I asked him who he had taken classes from.  And his list included a lot of names and schools that I'm sure you would be familiar with.  

     I suggested to him that all of the instructors he had mentioned were disciples of Jeff Cooper (1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation), and if he would take classes from others, he would find more diversity of philosophy and techniques.  I know it is inconvenient to travel to foreign countries for training, but even within the U.S. there are Israeli schools (e.g. Pacific West Academy or if you ask around at any Jewish Community Center you can get referrals, often incorporating Krav Maga), South African / Rhodesian schools (I am not listing examples, because I have not received permission yet.), and European (German, often in association with a weaponized version of Schutzhund dog training, using the dog as a self-defense weapon) schools that I have found to be very different from the American schools.  [Louis Awerbuck was South African, but he was a disciple of Jeff Cooper.  So, I do not include him in the South African school.]   

•  Next up is Greg Ellifritz's Weekend Knowledge Dump, also with links and commentary on self-defense and firearms related articles. A few links that caught by attention:
• "Carrying a Gun While Camping and Hiking: Practical Guide" by Jacob Paulsen is a very detailed article on carry guns for camping and hiking, looking at the selection of a weapon, securing the weapon, touching up gun laws and whether the castle doctrine might apply to your tent or camper (it depends), bears, where/how to carry when using a backpack, medical and communications, and more.
• "Comparing Revolver and Autopistol Reliability" from the Revolver Guy. Short take: "autopistols tend to be more resistant to abuse, while revolvers tend to be more resistant to neglect." 
• On a related note: "Is the Revolver the Ultimate Survival Gun? by Brad Miller. Discussing some advantages that a revolver has over a semi-auto in wilderness survival or bugging out situations.
• And, again, related: "Some thoughts on torture tests" from Primer Peak. The author believes most torture tests are clickbait with no real value, concluding: "Outside of checking for premature parts breakage or excessive wear with high round counts, most torture tests should be left behind."
• "How to protect your home from rioting mobs using fire as a weapon" from Last Minute Survival. Houses in the U.S. are particularly vulnerable to this attack because the vast majority of homes use wood framing and wood or vinyl siding. His first and probably most important piece of advice is simply clean up the things that are flammable: don't leave out bags of trash, tires, or canisters of fuel (e.g. that half can of gasoline for the lawnmower). 
• And an article on how to test if you 1911's safety's work. Just some quick, simple tests to make sure the active and passive safeties are working.  

•  "When a quote is not (exactly) a quote: General Motors"--Library of Congress. Actually not a long read, but a good example of how famous quotes can subtly change, generally to make them more pithier. The example here is Congressional testimony from General Motors President Charles E. Wilson after he had been nominated for Secretary of Defense:

Senator Hendrickson. Well now, I am interested to know whether if a situation did arise where you had to make a decision which was extremely adverse to the interests of your stock and General Motors Corp. or any of these other companies, or extremely adverse to the company, in the interests of the United States Government, could you make that decision?

Mr. Wilson. Yes, sir; I could. I cannot conceive of one because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa. The difference did not exist. Our company is too big. It goes with the welfare of the country. Our contribution to the Nation is quite considerable.” 

Wilson's comments were quickly altered (by the New York Times, of course) to “what is good for General Motors is good for the country, and what is good for the country is good for General Motors.” Which then became the more commonly known version today: "What’s good for General Motors is good for America." 

• "The Hunt for Judah P. Benjamin, the Spy Chief of the Confederacy" by Jay Solomon and Jane Singer at Tablet Magazine. The article summary: "Suspected of orchestrating the Lincoln assassination, the South’s most prominent Jew escaped to London to start a new life as a high-powered lawyer. The U.S. government secretly tried to bring him home to face justice." A short excerpt:

    Benjamin, Jefferson Davis, and the Confederate leadership fled south after Richmond’s collapse and were temporarily based in Charlotte, North Carolina, when news arrived of Lincoln’s death. No concrete evidence has emerged in the historical record that conclusively proves Benjamin or Davis had any knowledge of Booth’s murderous plans. But as the newly victorious North sought vengeance after four years of fratricidal war, Benjamin, for one, knew he’d be a suspect due to his ties, through the Confederate Secret Service, to the actor-turned-assassin.

    Union detectives investigating Lincoln’s death quickly reconstructed Booth’s travels to Montreal and the contacts he’d made there with Benjamin’s agents. But even more damaging to the Confederate diplomat, they also found in Booth’s hotel room a Confederate cipher key that exactly matched one they found in Benjamin’s abandoned Richmond office. This evidence was presented at the trial of the Lincoln conspirators in Washington.

    “On the 6th of April, I went into the office of Mr. Benjamin, the rebel Secretary of State. On the shelf, among Mr. Benjamin’s books and other things, I found this cipher key,” testified Charles Dana, the North’s assistant secretary of war. “I saw it was a key to the official rebel cipher.”

    Benjamin’s spy network also tied him to Booth in other damaging and seemingly direct ways. While serving in Richmond, Benjamin used as his personal courier a Maryland-based rebel, John Surratt Jr., to ferry his messages to Washington and agents further north. It was the same man who served as Booth’s accomplice in concocting the kidnapping plot of Lincoln. Surratt’s mother, Mary, hosted the actor at her Washington boarding house in the weeks before the attack.

    Surratt would later speak of meeting Benjamin at Richmond’s Spotswood Hotel, and receiving money from him, just days before the capital fell and the attack on Lincoln commenced. Surratt denied ever telling Benjamin of Booth’s activities. But the Confederate leader’s intelligence, and expansive control of his Secret Service, raises questions about the truthfulness of Surratt’s statement. Mary Surratt was eventually hanged for her role in supporting Booth. John Surratt escaped the U.S. by using Benjamin’s overseas spy networks to get to Europe.

    Benjamin, meanwhile, commenced after the assassination of Lincoln to launch one of the greatest escapes in American history—especially for a bookish, pudgy attorney with no military service. He peeled off from Jefferson Davis’ entourage in the town of Washington, Georgia, on May 3, 1865, and proceeded to make his way down the Gulf Coast of Florida. He disguised himself as a bearded, and disheveled, French trader, named M.M. Bonfals, according to press accounts from the time. “Goggles on … a hat well over his face,” Benjamin was nearly unrecognizable.

    He bumped along in a wagon on long, rutted roads and passed by the detritus of the war, including burnt-out buildings and scorched fields. He made it to a sugar plantation owned by a Confederate sympathizer in what’s now Bradenton, Florida. He hid for a month from Union patrols in the plantation house’s second story. He eventually found a Confederate spy ship to ferry him to the Bahamas. But he nearly drowned in subsequent attempts to reach Cuba, dogged by waterspouts and unseaworthy sloops. It took him weeks to reach Havana and the steamships that crossed the Atlantic.

    The Union government’s obsession with capturing Benjamin, however, only grew as the trial of the Lincoln conspirators commenced in May 1865. Newly sworn in President Andrew Johnson, a rabid antisemite, told the Northern press: “There was no rebel, whose hanging seemed so imperatively demanded by public justice, as Judah P. Benjamin.”

    The Confederate spy chief finally reached Southampton, England on August 30, 1865, more than four months after Richmond’s fall. He would immediately tap into the Confederate networks in England and France that he was so central in creating and deploying. He had allies across the sea.

Fears of the "Big One"

From the Daily Mail: "Big One fears erupt as San Andreas fault reaches highest stress level in 1,000 years." From the lede:

    Fears of the 'Big One' - an earthquake so big it devastates all of California - have risen to new heights after a disturbing discovery under America's most dangerous fault line.

    Researchers from the US and Switzerland revealed that the San Andreas Fault has reached its highest levels of stress in 1,000 years - adding that it has been more than 160 years since the giant crack in the Earth's crust had a major release of energy.

    The San Andreas is an 800-mile-long fault line which runs under most of California, passing by Los Angeles in the south and San Francisco in the north and connecting to several other major faults, most notably the San Jacinto Fault near Los Angeles. 

The City of Los Angeles has a pretty good preparedness guide available in PDF here. The California Earthquake Authority also has a website with preparedness advice. And one of the better post-disaster novels I've read is The Walk by Lee Goldberg (Amazon link) which follows Marty Slack, a TV network executive, as he survives "the Big One" and treks across Los Angeles from a film shoot in downtown Los Angeles, where he was when the quake struck, to his home in the San Fernando Valley. It's not long (190 pages) and makes a good read IMHO. 

VIDEO: Lead Round Nose Bullets For Self-Defense

With how poorly standard pressure .38 Special hollow points generally perform out of a snub-nosed revolver, you might be wondering how inexpensive lead round nose works. This video tests that out, as well as some .32 S&W Long. 

VIDEO: "Is Lead Round Nose Any Good for Defense in a Snub? Sellier & Bellot .38 Special VS .32 Long Gel Test" - Gun Sam Revolver Ballistics (20 minutes).

Handloading for the .223/5.56

    In response to a comment the other day about the Mini-14, I noted that many years ago I had worked up a load that worked quite well in a Mini-14 I owned, which was a 50-grain Speer soft point over 27 grains of Accurate 2230. That load worked well for me and my particular rifle, but it may not be appropriate for your weapon, so use that recipe at your own risk.

    The reason that I selected 2230 powder over other powders was that it was specifically developed as a 5.56 NATO propellant. (See "Propellant Profiles - Accurate 2230" at Handloader Magazine for more detailed information on the background of the powder). Of course, it being the early 1990s, I didn't have that article available, but found that out from some other source, probably an article in one of my father's gun magazines. It may not be the best powder for the application, but it worked for me and so I continue to use it.

    I've moved on since then and my loadings in recent years have been heavier bullets to use with an AR style rifle, including bulk 62 grain Green Tip pulled bullets that I had purchased from RMR Bullets. Since I like the 2230 powder, I just used the manufacturer's loading data for the Green Tip ammo (you can download a PDF of their reloading data here). For .223, the load for the 62 grain M855 is 21.4 grains of 2230. They have a separate section of loads for the 5.56mm; and when using the M855 bullets, the powder weight is listed as 22.8 grains of 2230, reflecting the higher pressures for 5.56. Of course, you may need to adjust the powder load to get the best performance out of your firearm. 

    And a few articles on the subject:

• "Reloading for the AR-15 (223/5.56)"--Ultimate Reloader. 
• "Handloading The .223 Rem."--Shooting Illustrated. 
• "Reloading the .223 Rem.: Great .223 Handloads for Bolt and Gas Guns"--Shooting Times.

Tell Us What You Really Think...

The Bugscuffle Gazette (fka Law Dog Files) has some thoughts on the so-called grooming gang scandal in the UK and what was revealed in the recent investigative report of the same:

    ... I was not expecting to learn that the grooming gangs have been operating since 1955. Seventy-one years. At least two generations of British children have been savagely sacrificed on the altar of multiculturalism, willingly helped and encouraged by not only the State, but by our “Journalistic Betters”.

    I was not expecting to learn that the victims number a quarter of a million. At minimum.

    The least job of a society — the very minimal function expected — is the protection of the innocent and the defence of those who cannot protect themselves.

    The Government of Great Britain — from the least to the highest — not only failed in this most minor of duties, but actively aided and abetted the destruction of the innocent and the depredation of the defenceless — with the enthusiastic assistance of “professional” “journalists”.

    Seventy-one (71) years. Two-hundred and fifty-thousand (250,000) children raped. Trafficked. Tortured.

    I don’t ever bloody well want to hear any English person tell me I don’t need guns again. “The police will protect you” you say, with that supercilious smirk. Read that report again — especially the part about the police failing to protect children, CHILDREN for God’s sake — and then get sodding bent.

    I am furious. I don’t want apologies — I want officers executed. I want politicians hung in the public square, their possessions seized. I want journalistic edifices chained shut and set on fire.   

I think this should be a reminder that police are like sheep dogs; and just like sheep dogs, they work for the shepherd, not the sheep. If the police failed to protect these children on the scale that the report indicates, it is because it was government policy. 

Who Were The People Plotting To Attack The White House UFC Match?

You've probably already heard that the FBI arrested 5 individuals for plotting an attack on the attendees of a UFC fight being held at the White House. If not, the Daily Mail reports on it here. It is a somewhat odd article because it desperately wants to paint the attackers as a right wing group--and perhaps they are--but some points suggest otherwise:

• First, the article reports (bold added), "the group's plan to target the UFC fight was carefully orchestrated to maximize confusion and present the gunman with opportunities to target Trump administration officials and billionaires - what he considered 'HVTs,' high value targets." This suggests a Leftist worldview. 
• Second, the leader of the group had "mused about targeting Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, noting on his phone how 'she's taken money from the Israel pro Israel lobby.'" Similarly, "[a]lso on the alleged target list were politicians who received donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to sources." This point cuts both ways, but the pro-Palestinian movement is definitely Left wing and Sen. Blackburn is a Republican. 
• Third, per the article, "[o]ne suspect allegedly told authorities the group was targeting 'capitalist elites' and 'billionaires.'" That is pretty much communist rhetoric. 

 And then there is this article, "Alleged ‘ringleader’ of disrupted attack on White House UFC show arrested in Nebraska," which reports: "Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha was arrested Sunday in a raid on an old church in the small town of Western, Neb. According to federal court records filed Tuesday, Alvarez is not a U.S. citizen." The piece continues:

    “From his home here in Nebraska, Alvarez allegedly directed and recruited others across the country to conduct a horrific attack against government officials in a mass casualty event. Our team worked around the clock to locate and apprehend Alvarez, take him into custody, and collect crucial evidence,” Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel of the FBI Omaha field office said in Tuesday release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 [snip]

    According to court records, Proper said the group would meet up in Fredericksburg, Va., and use drones during a demonstration to blow up the north side of the UFC arena built outside the White House, then shoot the crowd as they evacuated to the south. The snipers would focus on high-value targets, like wealthy people and politicians, in order to jumpstart a revolution, the documents state, listing top targets as President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and multiple members of Congress. Messages in the e-communications identified Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jim Justice (R-W. Va.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), and Reps. Carol Miller (R-W. Va.) and Riley Moore (R-W. Va.), as potential targets as they were recipients of AIPAC funds. 

A Metaphor For Obama's Presidency

"Obama Presidential Center subcontractors claim they’re owed millions and facing financial ruin ahead of grand opening"--New York Post.  It's not just that the contractors haven't been paid, but many are afraid to even publicly talk about it:

Several also described what they viewed as a wall of silence surrounding the project, with some declining to speak publicly or requesting anonymity because of confidentiality agreements or fears of professional retaliation.    

And of course the complete lack of concern for ordinary Americans:

    As the center prepares for a star-studded pre-opening celebration on Thursday featuring performers including Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and John Legend, Owen said it has been difficult to watch the buildup and soft-opening events take shape over the past few weeks while his company struggles financially.

    “It was kind of hard seeing some local and national celebrities high-fiving and back-slapping here about the work that’s been done,” Owen said. “The backdrop of a coming celebration is kind of hard to swallow for me and for some of my peers at the moment.”   

The article goes on to note that "the Obama Presidential Center was built around one of the most ambitious efforts to increase participation by minority-owned businesses and workers from historically underserved communities," but then reports that many of the contractors that have not been paid and are struggling financially as a result are these same minority-owned businesses.  

Wilder: Space X and the AI Bubble

John Wilder's latest piece, "SpaceX®: The Final Frontier?", discusses the SpaceX initial public offering, profitability, and financial bubbles. 

    Under normal economic theory, money is more or less efficiently used because it chases after business opportunities and investments that will make those businesses a profit, meaning that it is flowing to companies producing goods and services which people actually want and need. This is why socialism and communism always fail--instead of going into things people need and want, it goes where some soulless bureaucrat thinks it should go, which is often for social engineering programs. 

    But bubbles are driven by speculation (a financial term meaning gambling) which chases hype and the fast buck. Unfortunately, it draws in a lot of money that would otherwise have gone to stable, useful investments into a gambling frenzy until it the bubble pops and the money is gone into the pockets of the best gamblers leaving the late comers high and dry.  And if the bubble was big enough, and drew in enough money, it will result in a recession or, even, a depression. 

    The concern that John has is that this IPO was not to support SpaceX or even Starlink, but is intended to fund Musk's venture into AI. And investment in AI (by everyone, not just Musk) may well be a bubble.  

Guest Post: Zombie Apocalypse Movie Theater, Part IV - Micro-Theater

The Realist is back with another guest post:

Post apocalyptic improvised movie theater inside an
abandoned building. (Bing AI Image Creator https://www.bing.com/images/create/)

Zombie Apocalypse Movie Theater, Part IV - Micro-Theater

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this article were purchased by myself. I did not receive free samples, evaluation models, or other compensation from any manufacturer or retailer. I have no formal relationship with any manufacturer or retailer mentioned in this article - I have only been an arms-length customer. All brand names and product names used in this review are the trade names,  service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Further, this article reflects my unique circumstances and subjective opinions with regard to performance and other characteristics of the products discussed. Your mileage may vary.

    The power has gone out and you don't know if it will be returning any time soon. Your family is going stir-crazy. To provide a couple hours of normalcy, you invite your equally stir-crazy neighbors over to your home for Zombie Apocalypse movie night. You pop some popcorn on a small gas camp stove and set up a small movie theater with your battery powered projector to watch a few hours of movies.

    While most of the Zombie Apocalypse Movie Theater project has focused on ways to set up an informal movie theater environment for larger groups of people, I have also been looking at trying to produce a minimalist ZAMT configuration for a small group of people.

    A minimalist movie theater should include a battery-powered projector, a battery-powered amplified speaker, an audio cable to connect the projector to the speaker, a smaller projector screen, and a USB flash drive for storing movies. Optionally, a tripod could be included to support the projector, and a small power-bank with an appropriate charging cable could be added to extend the operating time of the projector. Further, the components of this minimalist movie theater setup should be selected such that they will fit comfortably in a small backpack.  

Micro ZAMT components. From top to bottom, left to
right: three small Bluetooth speakers including a JBL Flip 4 on the right, the
TMY V98 projector with its remote control, the Kodak LUMA 350 projector with its
remote control, the Kodak LUMA 75 projector, a small hard case, a zippered EVA
case, and a nano USB flash drive in the foreground. The 12 ounce soft drink can
is for scale.

 Projector

    There have been many battery powered "pico" projectors sold over the years.Unfortunately, most battery powered pico projectors seem to have a relatively short market life before they go out of production.

    (Terminology note: Some people differentiate between "pico" and "pocket" sized projectors, with the pocket sized being a little larger than the pico sized projectors. Both are still very small.)

    I have tested three currently available DLP (Digital Light Processing) "pico" projectors that are very small, operate for at least a couple of hours on their built-in battery, and have an audio output jack to facilitate hooking up to an amplified speaker. Two of these projectors have a native resolution of 640x360 pixels (360P), which I have found to be acceptable for movie viewing (see the Kodak LUMA 75 DLP projector discussion in Zombie Apocalypse Movie Theater, Part II (https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2024/10/zombie-apocalypse-movie-theater-part-ii.html)), while the third projector has a native resolution of 854x480 pixels (480P).

    Kodak LUMA 75 DLP projector (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078NCG82N/): This projector has a native resolution of 640x360 pixels (360P) and properly handles higher resolution source material with varying aspect ratios. I measured its light output at 57 ANSI lumens. It ran 1.9 hours on its built-in battery. This projector requires 5 VDC (Volts Direct Current) via USB-C for charging. This projector does not support a remote control. This is the smallest of the three projectors discussed in this article.

    TMY (NUTROMO) V98 DLP Projector (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GWHV8P2W/): This projector has a native resolution of 640x360 pixels (360P) and properly handles higher resolution source material with varying aspect ratios. I measured its light output at 50 ANSI lumens (45 ANSI lumens advertised). It operated 3.2 hours (3.5 hours advertised) on its built-in battery. This projector requires 5 VDC via USB-C for charging. This projector comes with a remote control.

    The TMY V98 is a strange little projector, with the reviews suggesting lots of problems (dead-on-arrival, failed after a few minutes, customer returns sold as new), and the seller creating a new Amazon listing to escape all the bad reviews. While my V98 projector may have been a customer return, it worked perfectly out of the box and performed properly for several hours of operational testing. I bought it because it was deeply discounted, but would not have considered it at full price. At full price, the V98 is the same price as the Kodak LUMA 75, with the Kodak LUMA 75 being a better projector.

    Kodak LUMA 350 DLP projector (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWMFDL3J/): This projector has a native resolution of 854x480 pixels (480P) and properly handles higher resolution source material with varying aspect ratios. It has three brightness modes: "High", "Normal", and "Eco". I measured its light output at 154.1 (high), 116.0 (normal), 85.8 (eco) ANSI lumens. Battery operation was 2.0 hours hours on high, 2.8 hours on normal, and 3.6 hours on eco. This projector requires 15 VDC via a small barrel connector for charging. This projector comes with a remote control.

    The Kodak projectors have been on the market for several years, which is both good and bad. The good is that these projectors have a proven track record and the manufacturer has had time to work out the design bugs. The bad is that some may consider their limited feature sets and lower resolution to be a detriment. I don't care about being able to stream from Netflix or do wireless smartphone screen mirroring. The lower resolution does not annoy me when watching a movie, although it would drive me crazy if using any of these projectors to display a PowerPoint presentation. I do care about portability, battery operating life, and how well they handle the aspect ratios of various movies. Both Kodak
projectors perform well for my needs.

    There are many pico/pocket DLP projectors sold on Amazon. Very carefully scrutinize the descriptions, especially for the more inexpensive listings. Some are just a bare projector with no ability to play movies from a USB flash drive or a micro-SD card. Others lack an audio output jack, and rely solely on Bluetooth for connecting to external speakers. If possible, find and download the owners manual for the projector to verify features if you are unsure. (Just because a USB-A port is present does not mean it will play movies stored on a USB flash drive. Similarly, what looks like a hole for the audio output jack may be a window for the IR sensor for the remote control.)

    The cheap twenty-dollar projectors might be categorized as "pico" (or "pocket")size, but they don't have built-in batteries and they otherwise suffer from poor performance. The twenty-dollar projectors operate on 12 VDC, although most will also operate on 5 VDC. But, at 5 VDC, the already dim light output is much dimmer. They could be powered from an external 12 volt battery, but that is added complexity for a very poor result.

Speaker

    While these pico projectors have surprisingly capable built-in speakers, a battery powered external speaker would improve the overall sound quality of the movie viewing experience.

    The external speaker I have decided on is a standard battery-powered Bluetooth speaker that has a 3.5 mm audio input jack. Even though many projectors can pair with a Bluetooth speaker, I do not want to use Bluetooth because the 200 millisecond (one-fifth of a second) delay in the audio can be very annoying.

    There are many battery-powered Bluetooth speaker options available. I settled on a JBL Flip 4 speaker, which is the last of the JBL Flip series to have a 3.5 mm audio input jack. Later models of the JBL Flip lack the input jack. Many, but not all, of the no-name Chinese Bluetooth speakers also have a 3.5 mm audio input jack.

Movies

    I did not include a DVD or Blu-Ray player due to the extra bulk and setup complexity. Instead, I decided to dramatically simplify the setup by relying on a USB flash drive to store the movies. I specifically chose a 64 GB nano flash drive because of its low profile and because some projectors cannot read a USB flash drive larger than 64 GB. A low-profile USB flash drive makes it easy to just leave it plugged into the projector - one less item to worry about losing.

    The movies loaded onto the USB flash drive were either ripped from DVDs I own or public domain movies downloaded from Internet Archive.  

Side view diagram of projector and screen
alignment. With regular projectors, the axis of the lens must be aimed at the
center of the screen. With DLP projectors, the axis of the lens must be aimed at
the bottom center of the screen. The axis of the lens should be perpendicular to
the plane of the screen.

 Projector Screen

    If practical, avoid using a blank wall as an improvised screen with these pico projectors. A quality projector screen will dramatically improve the viewability of the projected image. For this micro ZAMT setup, a Da-Lite pop-up screen or a vintage tripod screen is not practical since those screens are bulky.

    For the projector screen, I decided to go with a small IOLIEO fabric screen. As discussed in my ZAMT Part III article (https://practicaleschatology.blogspot.com/2025/06/guest-post-zombie-apocalypse-movie.html), the IOLIEO screens consist of two cloth layers sandwiched together - a thick white front layer, and a black back layer. The black backing solves the problem of light passing through the screen reflecting back from whatever is behind the screen. The IOLIEO screen discussed in the ZAMT Part III article was 84 inches diagonal (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9VPRNNW), but 72-inch and 60-inch diagonal IOLIEO screens are also available.

    Since the IOLIEO screens are cloth, they fold up very compactly. The IOLIEO cloth screens come with two different types of mounting hardware for attaching the screen to a wall, along with cords for suspending the screen between two trees or two vertical support columns. The eyelets on the IOLIEO screens are large enough that screws or nails could also be used to attach the screen to a wall.

    Due to the widely varying circumstances under which this micro ZAMT may be used, I'll leave supporting/mounting of the screen as an exercise for the reader.

Tripod

    While a small tripod is optional, it will make setting up the projector much easier. Since these projectors are small and light weight, an inexpensive aluminum tripod is a practical option for supporting the projector. These inexpensive tripods are fairly light weight, with some weighing as little as 1.3 pounds. A tripod will make setup and proper alignment of the projector with the screen easier.

    I would not recommend a tripod any cheaper than the Amazon Basics 50-inch tripod. There are cheaper tripods, but they are very flimsy and have leg sections thinner than a regular pencil.

    If you want to purchase a used tripod, make sure it either has a captive 1/4"-20 screw or comes with the quick release plate with its captive 1/4"-20 screw. Avoid the tripod if the quick release plate is not present. While modestly priced quick release plates are readily available on Amazon (there are many styles and sizes), having to purchase a quick release plate could eliminate the cost savings of a used tripod.

    If you have a tripod, first set up the screen, then mount the projector to the tripod and adjust the height of the tripod so that the projected image is properly placed on the screen without any keystone issues.

    Most regular projectors (i.e. non-DLP projectors) require the lens to be pointed at the center of the screen. Most DLP projectors require the lens to be pointed at the bottom center of the screen. (Ultra Short Throw projectors are outside the scope of this discussion.)  

Kodak LUMA 350 projector charging with a PD trigger
cable, set to 15 Volts, from a PD power bank.

 Accessories

    I highly recommend some kind of case to protect the projector during transport. While I prefer hard cases, they can be bulky. EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) zippered cases are inexpensive and will protect these projectors from most normal handling and transportation abuses. EVA cases are generally cheaper than hard cases.

    A power bank would allow you to extend the operating time of your projector (e.g. show more than a single movie), and potentially allow you to recharge your projector and Bluetooth speaker while AC power is not available.

    If your projector operates/charges off a 5 VDC power source, an inexpensive power bank is sufficient. If your projector does not operate/charge from a 5 VDC source, there are more flexible power bank options available.

    With the advent of rapid charging for tablets, smart phones, and some laptop computers, the USB Power Delivery (PD) standard was developed to provide a way for a PD-compatible device to negotiate with a PD-compatible power source to provide the needed charge voltage. Every PD-compatible device I have personally seen uses USB-C for its power input, although not all devices with USB-C are PD-
compatible.

    To charge/operate the Kodak LUMA 350 projector from a power bank, I purchased a "PD Trigger Cable" (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNMV127Y/) and a PD-compatible power bank (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJQ7F16T/). The cable incorporates the smarts necessary to negotiate with a PD-compatible power source to have it deliver the selected voltage. The USB-C end of the PD trigger cable plugs into the power source, in this case a PD compatible power bank, and the other end of the cable plugs into a non-PD device, in this case the projector. The cable comes with a variety different adapters for various sizes of barrel connectors.

    (If you want to know more about USB Power Delivery, this web page is useful: https://www.ecoflow.com/us/blog/usb-pd-versions-complete-guide)

    If you include a power bank, be sure to include the necessary USB power cables to reach your projector, and to recharge the projector and speaker after use.

    The only audio cable that is necessary is a 3.5 mm audio cable. If you want the amplified speaker to be placed in front of your audience, a cable that is ten to twenty feet (3 to 6 meters) would be necessary. If you hang the speaker from the tripod supporting the projector, a short 3 foot (1 meter) cable would be adequate.
 

Everything needed for the micro ZAMT, including an
inexpensive aluminum tripod on top of its storage bag, the JBL Flip 4 Bluetooth
speaker, an IOLIEO cloth screen, the Kodak Luma 350 projector (USB flash drive
inserted in the back of the projector) with its remote control and EVA zippered
case, a PD power bank with a PD trigger cable, a ten-foot audio cable, and a
micro-USB charging cable for the Bluetooth speaker. Fully collapsed, as shown,
the tripod is 17 inches long.

 Conclusions

    The micro ZAMT is optimized for maximum portability and setup simplicity. The equipment selection described above is sufficient for a living-room sized venue. Battery-powered pico projectors are surprisingly capable for their size, and if used in a darkened room, they project sufficient light to fill a moderately sized projector screen with a bright crisp image. A battery powered Bluetooth speaker allows the movie sound to be heard by everybody in the room. And, a small USB flash drive for storing several movies further simplifies the ZAMT.

    While highly recommended, a case for the projector and a tripod are optional. A moderately sized power bank and necessary cables are optional but beneficial.

Postscript

    In case you are wondering, I am having way too much fun with the Zombie Apocalypse Movie Theater project, which is why there is another installment to the series.