The East Coast Storm and 72-hour kits

Last week I wrote about the checklist I use to escape my house in an emergency in less than five minutes. One of the items on my checklist to grab was my 72-hour kits. I ended up getting several emails from people wanting to know the contents of my kit and where I get it.

With a storm raging on the East Coast at this very moment, these questions are especially timely, so I’m going to show you exactly what is in my kit.

Years ago, I used to build my own kits… I even ended up buying a bunch of products in bulk and making kits for other people. However, in the end it took way too much time, so I no longer do that.

What I do now is get my kits from a friend who builds them (actually, he builds good kits so that’s how he became my friend.) I buy his kit and then add a few items like a gun and at least 50 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Before I show you the contents of the kit, remember, a 72-hour kit is a very simple and inexpensive form of insurance. Plus, if you have your kits and are prepared, you won’t be one of the families on the East Coast who are freaking out right now because they don’t have any food in their cupboards.

Here are the contents of the kit I buy, then as I mentioned above, I add a few other items:

6 Food Bars – The bars are 400 calories each. They come wrapped in waterproof packaging.

6 boxes of Aqua Blox – Enough water to last three days. The emergency drinking water is Coast Guard approved and has a 5-year shelf life.

Water Purification Tablets – 10 purification tablets are included in the kit. The 10 tablets will purify as many as 5 two-liter bottles of water.

AM/FM Radio – The radio comes with batteries and headphones and allows you to monitor the weather and other radio stations in the event of an emergency. 

LED Flashlight – The flashlight is rechargeable and will never run out of power. To recharge it you simply squeeze the handle, which generates more power.

30-Hour Survival Candle – Comes with an adjustable wick and can also be used as a small camp stove to heat food.

5-in-1 Emergency Survival Whistle – In addition to the whistle, it includes a signal mirror, compass, waterproof match container, and flint for starting fires.

Waterproof Matches – Box of waterproof matches in case your gear gets wet during an emergency.

Emergency Sleeping Bag – The bag is waterproof and windproof and retains 90% of your body heat.

Emergency Poncho – The poncho includes a hood to protect your entire body from the elements.

Survival Knife – The knife contains 16 different tools, including a Phillips screw driver, can opener, cork screw, reamer, manicure blade, sturdy reamer, hook disgorger, slot screw driver, key ring, toothpick, fish scaler, tweezers, wood saw, cutting blade, and cap lifter.

Respirator Dust Mask – Thicker than the average dust mask and approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Pocket Tissues – Three packs of tissues. Each pack contains 10 tissues. 

Safety Goggles – To protect your eyes from debris during a disaster.

Sewing Kit – To use for sewing clothing or to repair tears in tents or other shelters. The kit includes 3 safety pins, 3 needles, 7 buttons, and 10 different colors of thread.

24-Piece Hygiene Kit – Contains a toothbrush, toothpaste, wetnaps for your hands, a bar of soap, shampoo and conditioner, dental floss pick, hand lotion, body lotion, deodorant, razor, comb, maxipads, shaving cream and a washcloth.

Small 37-Piece First Aid Kit – Contains eight spot bandages, eight sheer junior bandages, four sheer medium bandages, four sheer strips, two antibacterial, three clear strips, two fabric strips, one extra large, two alcohol pads, and two gauze pads.

Deck of Playing Cards – For entertainment.

Note Pad and Pencil – For writing down important information during an emergency. 

Now, use this list to build your own kit, and don’t forget to add ammunition, at the very least. However, if you want to get the kit above, already made, you can visit www.SuperDeluxePack.com.

5-Minute Emergency Checklist

This past summer I remember watching the news about the devastating fires in Colorado. Many of the people interviewed said the all too familiar “we had no idea the fire was so close to our house, we only had minutes to evacuate.” If you found yourself in their position would you be able to evacuate your home in 5 minutes or less?

The thing is, a lot of people are prepared and have food and water stored at home for sheltering in place. But I’d be willing to bet if I knocked on 100 doors and said “you’ve got 5 minutes to evacuate this house”, 99 of those people would be running around like a chicken with their heads cut off unsure of what they should grab.

And because in an emergency you’re already under a lot of stress, I have created a very simple checklist for my family that we will follow in case we have to flee our house ASAP. (The checklist lists the person’s name that is in charge of grabbing each item during the evacuation.)

Jason – 72-hour kits

Jason – Small safe that contains passports, birth certificates, cash, and other important documents.

Jason – Guns and Ammo (Both Glock 19s, AR-15. I have this ammo stored in a small Rubbermaid container that I can quickly grab.)

Jason – Jason’s clothes bag

Amanda – Baby’s bag full of diapers, wipes, formula, clothes

Amanda – Amanda’s clothes bag

Amanda – Medicine for entire family

That’s the entire checklist. It’s not meant to be a survival checklist with 79 different items. It’s meant to be a practical checklist that allows you to truly get out of your house in just a few minutes.

I realize all of use would love to get our photo albums and other sentimental items, but if you find out a fire or tornado is coming any minute, then those things are not essential and will have to get left behind.

I also realize that like any checklist, you’ll want to modify it and add different items than I have to suit your needs. But be very careful not to get carried away and be sure you could literally escape your house in 5 minutes flat. In other words, keep it simple.  

So some time this week I encourage you to have a family meeting and sit down with everyone and make your own 5-minute emergency checklist. Then assign each member of the family different items to grab in the house. Also, don’t forget to have the checklist where everyone can see it. (Mine is posted in my home office.)

Why You Need to Own Multiple Guns

Most gun owners I know already own multiple firearms. After all, there are so many different guns out there how could you just own one? But I do know a few gun owners who literally have just one gun. Sometimes the reason is because of their significant other (AKA wife), other times it’s a monetary issue (which I understand), and then there are the people who simply think one gun is enough (I shudder at the thought.)

One of the obvious reasons to own multiple guns is in case one of them breaks. If you’re using a quality gun, such as a Glock or Smith and Wesson M&P or Springfield XD, then the chances are slim. But they are mechanical devices and eventually something is going to go wrong. If you’re at the shooting range and your gun goes down then it might be days even weeks before you get your gun fixed by a gunsmith or the factory.

Another reason to own multiple guns…

Is to have more than one gun throughout your house. For instance, I obviously have one of my guns in my bedroom in case there’s a home intruder during the night. But there’s also a gun in my basement. If someone were to break into my house while I was in my basement watching a movie, it would be a long haul up to my bedroom if that were the only gun I had.

So, at a minimum have a gun in your basement and your bedroom, but try and have one on every level if you can. Just remember to keep each gun in a “fast opening” safe that you can open in about 3 seconds.

One of the most important reasons to own multiple guns is because your spouse or other family members who live with you need one too. When I’m traveling I feel a heck of a lot better knowing my wife has her own gun and that she’s trained to use it.  (Except if we’ve had an argument before going to bed. Then I ask her if for my own safety I should come and move her gun to my side of the bed for the night – always amusing to me, not so much to her.)

But in all seriousness…

If you’re the only gun owner in your house, how is your family going to protect themselves when you’re out of town? Or what if you’re just running errands a few miles down the road and something happens?

I realize there are still a lot of people who have family members who are scared of guns or anti-gun, but just take baby steps with them. Don’t try and convince them to get a gun, just try and convince them to at least come shooting with you once. It never ceases to amaze me when the people I take to the range are anti-gun when we get there and then as soon as we’re done they’re often saying, “that was so much fun, when can we do this again,” or “I never knew shooting was so enjoyable, I think I might actually get a gun.”

The fact is, there are probably dozens more reasons why you should own more than one gun, including everyone’s new favorite, the zombie apocalypse/end of the world. So if you’ve only got one gun, and you can afford it, get yourself another one today. In fact, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing this afternoon. 

Don’t Even Do This At the Post Office

Most of us believe we understand concealed carry laws fairly well. After all, we know we cannot carry concealed in a courthouse, we know we cannot carry concealed in an airport, and in the vast majority of states we’re not allowed to carry concealed inside a school.

But when it comes to the Post Office many people unknowingly violate the law and I’d be willing to bet you’ve done it once or twice or you know someone who has. And guess what? What I’m talking about has nothing to do with carrying concealed INSIDE the post office. 

Most people can agree it’s illegal to carry concealed inside a Post Office. 

I say “most,” because there are a good number of people who think it is legal. You see, the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 930) that deals with firearms in federal buildings has a section that says there are certain times you can carry concealed in a federal building… “The lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes.”

People argue that “other lawful purposes” means we can carry for personal protection because we have a valid concealed carry permit. From what my lawyer has told me and from all of the research I have done this is NOT true. 

In fact, the Code of Federal Regulations - Title 39 – which is named “Conduct on Postal Property” says “No person while on postal property may carry firearms, other dangerous or deadly weapons, or explosives, either openly or concealed, or store the same on postal property, except for official purposes.”

So hopefully you understand that you cannot carry concealed inside the Post Office…

But that’s not my main concern and not why I wrote this today. The reason I wrote this and the big mistake people make is that you’re not even allowed to have your gun on Post Office Property. In other words, when you pull into the parking lot and toss your gun into the glove compartment while you go mail a letter, you are breaking the law.

I realize that may sound “dumb” and hard to believe, but the above Title 39 paragraph clearly states “on postal property, except for official purposes.” Now, I had a student who told me that a friend of theirs got arrested in the Post Office parking lot when a police officer watched him put his gun in his glove box…

But the biggest proof I found is what actually happened to a postal employee. A fellow named Clarence Dorosan used to store his gun in his car while he went to work each day. Somehow, one of this supervisors found out he had a gun in his car and he was arrested and fired for having a gun on the property. I’ve even attached a copy of the appellate ruling where the judges upheld his original conviction. 

So since you cannot even carry onto the Post Office parking lot, what should you do? Obviously, one option is to leave your gun at home if you know you’ve got to stop by the Post Office. But where I live there is a restaurant next to the Post Office so I always park in the restaurant parking lot and stash my gun in the glove box and then walk over when I need to send a package or mail a letter. Yes, it’s nonsense, but unfortunately, many laws are.

Why I made this portable target

For the next several months I’ll be doing training in Utah and Nevada, and lately I’ve been spending a great deal of time in Southern Utah near Bryce and Zions Canyon. The best part about being out in this “wide open” country is that the city shooting range is at the bottom of a mountain and anyone can go shoot whenever they want.

In other words, it’s a free public range. You don’t have to pay any range fees. There are no range officers around. It’s up to the public to be responsible, which is the way it should be. Quite frankly, this type of shooting range is a little slice of heaven and is a good change from the NRA shooting range that I usually go to in Northern Virginia. (It seems there’s always an hour and a half wait at the NRA range and the majority of the range officers they employ need a lesson in customer service.)

The thing is, since the range I’m now going to is a public range at the bottom of a mountain, there is literally nothing there. You have to bring your own targets and target stands.

When I found this out, I quickly went online and searched for a portable target system…

A simple enough one popped up and I decided to build it with a slight twist. So here’s the target stand that I built and here’s everything you need to build one too. It really is simple. I promise if I can build it, so can you, since I’m extremely “un-handy.”

First, go to Home Depot and buy eight pieces of black ABS pipe that are each 1.5 inches x 24 inches long. Home Depot has these already pre-cut so you can grab them and go (like I did). Or, you can buy a long piece of the pipe and cut it yourself.

Next, you need two “Tees.” These connect the pipe that holds up the target. In other words, the “Tees” connect the two pieces to the stand, which hold the furring strips (more about these in a second.) After that, you need four “Elbows” to connect the pipes to form a square. And lastly, you need two wooden furring strips that are 58 inches long. (They come longer than this so you’ll have to cut them down a bit.)

Here’s the layout of needed materials again in an easier to read format:

-8 pieces of ABS pipe that are each 1.5 inches x 24 inches

-Two connector “Tees”

-Four “Elbows”

-Two furring strips that are 58 inches long

After you have those items it takes about 30 seconds to put the target together. Once it’s together you simply staple up cardboard and a target. Since I know the directions were likely a bit confusing, see the picture at the bottom of this article to get a better idea of what the finished product should look like. It will cost you less than $40 in supplies from Home Depot and then you’ll be all set to shoot at “rural” shooting ranges should you ever find yourself out in the country.