Prepping 101: Bury a Rifle and Some Food

Authors Paul Helinski Prepping 101
These are the two containers, with the rifle in there to show the relative size. For absolute indestructibility the cylinder has the upper hand, but at the cost of cubic inches of storage.

These are the two containers, with the rifle in there to show the relative size. For absolute indestructibility the cylinder has the upper hand, but at the cost of cubic inches of storage.

From the Pictures:
Cylinder Cannister on Ebay $30 + Shipping
Rectangular Box Can on Ebay $25 + Shipping

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

There is also the very real possibility that the master plan involves massive gun confiscations. And when they really do come for your guns, don’t think that it is going to be something that you can fight. Even local police departments have been outfitted with thermal imaging and smart weapons at this point. Unless you are part of a significant resistance force, your best bet is to let them in and let them take your guns, and hope they leave you some of your food.

After about 4 months in the elements, this Mosin Nagant M44 came out of the cylinder can in the same condition it went it, with no desiccant or O2 absorber.

After about 4 months in the elements, this Mosin Nagant M44 came out of the cylinder can in the same condition it went it, with no desiccant or O2 absorber.

Also, don’t assume that there is going to be a political warning that the confiscation is going to happen. That isn’t the way it works historically. Kristallnacht was a recent example in a western society. Everyone thinks that the movie version of this debacle was how it went down, but it wasn’t a killing spree. That night in 1933 was all about collecting up the guns. The next day Germany passed wide sweeping gun control measures where the Jews were not allowed to own guns. Murdering psychopaths are driven by success in their evil. They aren’t going to tip you off that next Thursday is turn over your guns day. I’m on a list. You’re on a list. For most large gunshops and all the bigbox stores, the form 4473s are being digitized and sent to the government. It is no secret that you are armed, and they will be coming to get those guns at some point soon.

The the box I put desiccant packs and these humidity gauges. They would not be holding at 10% of there was any leak at all.

The the box I put desiccant packs and these humidity gauges. They would not be holding at 10% of there was any leak at all.

I hate to be the fearmongering bogeyman, especially because this is of course GunsAmerica, and it would appear that I’m pandering to the choir. But to some degree our 2nd Amendment rights have become part of the hubbub game of media distraction. Nobody will ever convince me that the political machinations mean anything at this point. We are in death throws of society, clinging to a false prosperity that we have stolen from the future, and the powers that be are attempting every day to “extend and pretend,” so that they have one more day to get their own survival plans in place. As I have explained at length, the planet is being geoengineered into massive die off, one of which you are I are going to be a part, like it or not. At some point the people running the show are going to kill anyone who resists, and even those who insist on maintaining weapons of resistance. Every totalitarian government has done that in the past, and when our resources finally can’t be faked anymore, this one will be no different. They aren’t gearing all of these local police up for nothing. I’ve even seen in the rural middle counties in Florida that they are putting the older cops, who would most likely not side with the government in a collapse situation, on court duties and desk jobs while hiring young guys from the cities to do the patrolling. This is going down, and it is going down soon.

I realized that the space you would take up with a desiccant pack is really a waste. One of the packs I bought is the same size as a pound of rice. The other is about the same size as this 5 lb. bag of beans. Can't eat desiccant, but either of these dried foods will act as a humidity absorber in the cans.

I realized that the space you would take up with a desiccant pack is really a waste. One of the packs I bought is the same size as a pound of rice. The other is about the same size as this 5 lb. bag of beans. Can’t eat desiccant, but either of these dried foods will act as a humidity absorber in the cans.

For me, that’s the rub when it comes to hiding a weapon and ammo, especially a rifle. You can’t just hide a rifle in a tupperware container buried in the backyard and expect it to be there in functional condition two years later. And yes, by the way, it could be two years, or even ten years down the road, even though I make this all sound imminent. Imminent is a matter of perspective. I value each day of “extend and pretend” myself, because it gives me the chance to get my own resources in place. But they would not be doing this so forcefully in the short term if big changes were not afoot. Those young obedient cops won’t stay young and obedient for many years. I don’t think we have ten years to wait.

A taken down AR easily fits in the box can.

A taken down AR easily fits in the box can.

The question we all have to ask ourselves is, if my guns are taken away, do I want to have the ability to arm myself one last time to protect my family? My answer is yes. And I hope at least some of you appreciate that I am willing to say this in a public forum with my real name, because I’m sure it has been noted on my file at my regional Fusion Center. If you don’t know what those are, look it up.

I also do think that your focus should be on a rifle. I wrote an article about this a while ago for this column, and will repeat it here. There is no such thing as a powerful handgun. Handguns are great for difficulties in interpersonal relations, but once you get over 50 yards or so, it is really hard to hit things with the small sight radius, and there just isn’t that much power when you do manage to hit. I actually just put out an article on the Taurus Raging Bull in .44 Mag, but think about this. A 7.62x54R rifle round from a cheap Mosin Nagant has the same power in it as a .44 Magnum at the muzzle. You can still get a beat up Mosin for $200 or so. Cut it down and bury in in a steel container with a couple hundred rounds of ammo. If you can afford it, hide one somewhere along the path of every major road into or out of your home.

Other ideas would be a shotgun. A pistol grip 8 shot Mossberg 500 and a KSG both fit fine.

Other ideas would be a shotgun. A pistol grip 8 shot Mossberg 500 and a KSG both fit fine.

My experiments with these two cans are still in progress. I decided to get the article out because for one, I know the guy has 50 or so of each size, and so far my tests have been flawless. I left a Mosin M44 in the cylinder one for 4 months, out in the rain with nothing else. I didn’t put an oxy absorber and I didn’t put moisture absorbing desiccant packs. If there was any leakage, that rifle would have been severely rusted, but it came out exactly the way it went in. In the second can, the rectangular box, I put desiccant packs and a couple humidity measuring dials. If that container had any leaks to the outside world, the packs would have absorbed all the moisture long ago and the humidity percentage would at least be up to our normal level here in South Florida, which is 70-80%. Both dials read 10%.

The cylinder has fins at the bottom that the butt of the rifle fits in.

The cylinder has fins at the bottom that the butt of the rifle fits in.

At first I was going to put the desiccant packs in with two rifles for this next phase, but then I was thinking, why would I do that? I have a limited amount of space and if Heaven Forbid I ever need the rifle that is in this can, I’m not going to be in good shape for any supplies at all. Better that I should use good old rice as my desiccant (which is still used for dried flowers and seedsaving today), and fill the bucket up with as much food and useful supplies as I can.

How hard would it be to hide one of these things? . Now, I’m not advocating that you bury a firearm on public land, or even someone else’s private land, but if you were to do such a thing, finding a place to do so wouldn’t be that hard. With Google Earth you can see where, on the side of the road, there is an area where it will be unlikely that someone would go looking. You could pull over and pretend to be using the woods for the facilities, then carry your can in when someone isn’t coming. As long as you have good landmarks, and have a good GPS fix, returning to the spot wouldn’t be that hard either. You could then pretend to break down, and pretend to need to go use the woods again. When you come out with your can, who is going to bother you?

So we’ll see how it goes. Obviously you can take apart an AR a lot smaller than either of these cans, so your local Army surplus store may have a good candidate. There are also smaller cans on Ebay. I think a regular bolt rifle could break down and fit in the cylinder one. . Measure from the tip of your barrel to the back of the action. It is an interesting idea to say the least. This week my column is more about sharing something I found than it is about learning how to do something with a lot of details. See the pictures for more.

The box can don't fit a lot of barreled actions, let alone fully assembled actions.

The box can don’t fit a lot of barreled actions, let alone fully assembled actions.

The cylinder has far less cubic inches, but it is longer and you could probably drive a truck over it.

The cylinder has far less cubic inches, but it is longer and you could probably drive a truck over it.

Subtract an inch or so for this foam pad at the top, or cut it off.

Subtract an inch or so for this foam pad at the top, or cut it off.

Both containers have brand new looking gaskets.

Both containers have brand new looking gaskets.

An AR, six full mags, some ready food and some cookable dried food, all packed up. Note the humidity level.

An AR, six full mags, some ready food and some cookable dried food, all packed up. Note the humidity level.

If we are still talking about all of this next summer I'll revisit this subject and see how the cans are doing.

If we are still talking about all of this next summer I’ll revisit this subject and see how the cans are doing.

If you are on a budget, I am a big advocate of the Mosin-Nagant rifle. They are reliable and fairly accurate.

If you are on a budget, I am a big advocate of the Mosin-Nagant rifle. They are reliable and fairly accurate…and cheap!

It probably is smarter to leave your ammo out of your mags to conserve the springs, but I put it in to conserve space.

It probably is smarter to leave your ammo out of your mags to conserve the springs, but I put it in to conserve space.

The one pound bags of beans and rice are much better for the cylinder container. You can get away with 5 lb. bags in the box can.

The one pound bags of beans and rice are much better for the cylinder container. You can get away with 5 lb. bags in the box can.

The ration bars are at most Walmarts for $5. They are made by Mayday, which I have explained in past articles can be bought online in bulk.

The ration bars are at most Walmarts for $5. They are made by Mayday, which I have explained in past articles can be bought online in bulk.

Mylar pack tuna is cheap and takes up little space.

Mylar pack tuna is cheap and takes up little space.

Lifestraws are now on Ebay for like ten bucks each as military surplus. You might want to think about putting some of them and water purification tabs in your bucket.

Lifestraws are now on Ebay for like ten bucks each as military surplus. You might want to think about putting some of them and water purification tabs in your bucket.

I would also include an alcohol stove if you can. Walmart has  Esbit type stoves for cheap, and this black stove is on Ebay for like $30. It is a backpackers rocket stove  and comes with solid fuel and can also burn sticks.

I would also include an alcohol stove if you can. Walmart has Esbit type stoves for cheap, and this black stove is on Ebay for like $30. It is a backpackers rocket stove and comes with solid fuel and can also burn sticks.

The cylinder has a very sure locking mechanism.

The cylinder has a very sure locking mechanism.

Unless you need the length, you are better off with the box can though. It has way more space for food and supplies.

Unless you need the length, you are better off with the box can though. It has way more space for food and supplies.

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  • keith December 5, 2016, 12:00 am

    Yo, uh, dunno if you know this but these containers are metal and have a “radar cross section” this much larger than their metalic contents. You need to try to find a plastic container solution.

  • Chordeiles January 15, 2016, 5:28 pm

    Nice article! Love reading comments. A person can learn as much from them or more than the original article. So I will share my experience. A five gal. bucket works good for long storage underground. I put my AR 7, 1 Battle Ready MRE, 200rds, Knife, Folding saw,2-5’x10′ tyvec sheet, Ferro rod, Bic lighter and Fishing gear into bucket. I took plumbers putty and lined grove under lid, pressed lid on and stood on it to make good seal. I then threw it in pool and held it underwater. No leaks. It should keep at least 2 or 3 years being 2ft down. As for the military type solid fuel, I have had it in backpack and then in bugout for over ten yrs and all it has done was shrunk. As for cops….well cops are just people, you have your good one and bad ones. I use to shoot in bowling pin matches w/them years ago and none of them guys had a anti-gun attitude. But I will say much. If it wasn’t for the good cops I had known and know, I would be kinda hateful towards them too. They are just people and they put their pants on one leg at a time just like you and I..

  • Mort Leith December 27, 2015, 7:30 am

    I would MUCH rather die a FREE man than live like a liberal Sissy SLAVE…..

  • Mort Leith December 27, 2015, 7:27 am

    My Mossberg 500 comes with a plastic bag and a waterproof tube,, but if I had to pick one of my guns to bury with or without protection,, it would be my AK-47 all day long….
    Vietnam PROVED that btw

  • Vic December 22, 2015, 4:54 pm

    “There is also the very real possibility that the master plan involves massive gun confiscations. And when they really do come for your guns, don’t think that it is going to be something that you can fight…. your best bet is to let them in and let them take your guns, and hope they leave you some of your food.”

    “And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?… The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin’s thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If…if…We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation…. We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”
    ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

  • Ya Bleu December 21, 2015, 10:48 am

    I have one suggestion: 1) spray the entire rifle with a light coat of oil – like RemOil, inside and out. 2) get yourself a good vacuum sealer, they sell heavy-duty bags that are 11 inches wide and come in 50 ft rolls, so you can cut a piece as long as you need. 3) Vacuum seal the rifle (separate bags for ammo) and THEN place it in the container…Voila! no need to worry about moisture or condensation. If you really want to go crazy, double- bag it. In other words; after you’ve sealed it, place that sealed bag into another one and do it again. Safety in case the 1st bag cracks or develops a leak.

    • Paul Helinski December 21, 2015, 11:53 am

      Yea, double bag it Vern. Wow thanks for your insights.

    • Leigh Ripley January 14, 2016, 11:03 am

      Great idea Ya Bleu! I think a single bag would be enough. Only an uber-defensive fool in love with his own “expert” opinions and with disdain for anyone else’s (dismissing them all as “armchair critics” so he doesn’t have to consider their input), would make fun of it.

  • buurga December 21, 2015, 3:55 am

    I have always wondered how the government would go about the confiscation of guns. Would they send you a letter? Text? Smoke signal? Just show up? How and where? Do you really think the government would risk another Oklahoma City? How about a dozen, or more. Talk about letting loose the nut cases. There are too many layers of ‘don’t even think about it,’ to consider confiscation a real threat. Gradual erosion of our rights is more up their alley-and that fight is on now.

    • Ya Bleu December 21, 2015, 10:53 am

      It’s easier than you think: Communist governments have been doing it for years. Look at Cuba, North Korea, China. They do it in a number of ways, not just one. The initial part, when it starts, becomes a huge sweep that even includes your neighbors – that’s right: you’d be surprised how many of your “friends” and neighbors will turn you in for exchange of Brownie points with the new regime. Neighbors watching neighbors (you never know who to trust) works like a charm.

  • Jay December 4, 2015, 4:22 am

    Food for thought. Mosins are great guns. Good battle rifles. They are great sources to have. But, is that what you want for survival especially in a world where “guns” and “gunshot” = “enemy”? One sure thing about the Mosin is that it is LOUD. Most game including deer can be taken with a .22 and those are much quieter. You can also stash and carry more ammo for one in a limited space than you ever could for that Mosin. Don’t for get string and wire for snares and such like.
    Just my .02

    • Paul Helinski December 4, 2015, 7:07 am

      I have a snare article coming up here at some point, if we make it that far. There already is a trapping article using conibear traps. You can’t just “buy wire” like everything else, you have to learn how to do it, and you have to have the proper tools. The mosin is a defensive rifle, not for hunting.

  • MAC November 21, 2015, 3:18 pm

    This article mentions removing ammo and springs from mags to conserve the springs. This is incorrect. Springs do not wear from being compressed when a magazine is loaded only when they are cycled.

    • Paul Helinski November 21, 2015, 7:01 pm

      Incorrect. All steel springs suffer from memory loss when they are compressed for lengths of time. In practice most firearm platforms are tolerant, including AR mags with green followers, but it is something to be aware of. Some people load only 20 or 25.

      • buurga December 21, 2015, 3:59 am

        Actually compression itself does not effect a spring much. It the decompression and repeat compression that really causes problems. Cars have been stored on compressed springs for years with no effect on the springs strength. Earthquake proof structures sit on compressed springs knowing this full well.

  • Will Drider November 18, 2015, 10:03 pm

    Standard white package tying string. Anything 1/16 (est.) will work. Cotton is best. I use what ever is handy. Synthetics will have a short usage life as they melt with the friction induced heat. You make faster cuts with thin string but you want it to handle the heat and tension. Once you get a groove made it will stay alligned and cut fast from then on.

  • Will Drider November 17, 2015, 10:20 pm

    A seperatly stashed revolver and a box (min) of ammo should be stashed where you can get at quickly even digging by hand. This will afford you so level of defense while getting the larger stash of goodies. Leave one loaded mag on top of rifle so you can put in action quickly. Pull springs and followers from other mags, reinstall floor plates then fill with ammo, put thin strip of duct tape across top. If you bury pvc vertically, put a “piston” with a center cord so you can pull the cord to extricate the contents quick an easy. String between two improv handles will saw through pvc quickly and quietly (bring extra string).

    • Paul Helinski November 18, 2015, 6:52 am

      What kind of string? Just like regular kite string?

  • William Satmary November 16, 2015, 9:01 pm

    Great article and great comments posted here. Good food for thought. I’m going to try this with an “off the books” bolt action that I’m not using. Keep up the good work, guys!

  • Rick November 16, 2015, 8:21 pm

    SOME IMPORTANT INFO…
    If you were to bury any metallic object in the ground and you do expect those metallic objects will be searched for by people or agencies other than you, do NOT bury those objects strait up and down,
    WHY?
    They are MUCH easier to detect with metal detecting equipment such as a EM61. A standard high powered ALL metal detector used by many companies to search for buried items. A EM61 is used as a cart or even worn on the body by a person. It ABSOLUTELY will detect metallic objects to a depth than you can dig deeper with a shovel by far.
    Even a cheap Schonstedt can find ferrous metal objects at great depth. I’ve seen them sell used at pawn shops for $100.00.
    Read up. https://www.schonstedt.com/
    Know the tools your opponent uses and plan to defeat those tools, passively.
    Burial in Water will only add to the difficultly but will not prevent items from being found.

    If on land, try to bury, horizontally along a metallic pipe. Larger the better. Many concrete culverts are steel reinforced. What you are doing is to place you items in an area that will mask your items even when searched with detection equipment.
    Additionally if you were to place those items alongside the aforementioned pipes and culvert directly under power lines, the EMF provided by the power lines really screws with electronic detection devices.

    I will tell you, even if buried right under a chain link fence, those items still can be detected! A skilled operator if not lazy will find items under a metallic fence. It will come across as two “hits”

    Get the idea here?
    Then if you salt the area with barb wire, nails, and other common items that would not attract a question why so much of it is in the soil, all the better.

    • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 8:27 pm

      That is why I didn’t suggest people bury these things in their back yards. Bury them in your friend’s backyard!

  • Mason Hamilton November 16, 2015, 6:01 pm

    This is a good article with many good storage hints. However, (as suggest previously) thin wall PVC sewer pipe is far cheaper and more water tight (ends properly glued/rotated on with heavy bodied PVC solvent cement) than any retired mil containers will ever be. This type storage has additional benefits over retired mil containers in that:
    1. If you bury them in long lengths (10 ft.+ – depends on your digging ability) and if someone else is digging in the area (gas line construction, cable installations, surveyors, etc.) and runs into a section of sewer pipe they aren’t likely to break it open – or pursue it to its end – because it could be full or real shit. Another suggestion to improve storage conditions: at Lowes they now have tool drawer lining material (a perforated foam fabric) that is impregnated with an anti-rust compound whose vapors prevent rust. (No, I haven’t checked into the chems involved.) I live a 100 yards off the Atlantic Ocean and this stuff stopped the rust in my shop tools. With a little of the universal problem solver – duct tape, you can make holsters and scabbards from this material to store guns in – and then inside of air tight poly ethylene bags – inside of the PVC pipes.
    2. If someone sees you burying mil containers its pretty obvious that you burying something of value – and you will never see them and they will come back in few days after you have left to check out your treasure.

    If they see you burying sewer pipe (especially around your home) most won’t be the least interested. Especially if tell them you are installing a new drain field/sewer line etc. and ask for volunteers to help you. You can even carry the completed PVC storage pipes – loaded on your car roof rack without garnering any undue suspicion. Wear your pants low, show your crack and otherwise make like a plumber. Moreover there are lots of places in buildings where sewer pipes are expected to be – basements, crawl spaces, or even overhead in multi-story buildings, etc. One more or less sewer pipes surround by others isn’t going to be out of place. Be creative – store in plain sight.

    The negatives with glued PVC pipe storage are the acetone and toluene used in the solvent cement glues used to glue fittings and caps on. These organic chemicals will penetrate food wrappers unless they are absolutely sealed air tight in polyethylene – not healthy.

    If you are really into this process – you can glue tees on each end of the pipe and install some small cheap ball valves off the tee. If you use SCH 40 PVC for storage (thicker and more crush proof) you can tap threads in the pipe (PVC sewer pipe is too thin to tap threads into) for the small 1/2″ ball valves to screw into. I suggest rather than using pipe dope or teflon tape on them, use PVC glue when you screw them in to make a leak proof bond. Because these valves are mass manufactured make sure you check them under pressure (use a compressor or even your garden hose) for leaks before you install them. These small valves will allow you to vent off the PVC glue fumes from the pipe. If you’re worrying type – you can always stencil “TOXIC WASTE” with a bio-hazzard emblem up and down the pipe. That will terminate at least most “un-official” interest.

    If you are even more of a perfectionist – you can get a cylinder of nitrogen from your local refrigeration warehouse supply or off of eBay and flush the pipe with nitrogen before closing the vent valves at each end for the last time. This will eliminate biologic activity and rust – no oxygen left. Additionally, you might want to drill holes in the valve handles and safety wire them to the pipe – in the closed position – so they don’t get accidentally opened in the transport, burying process, by a mole, land crab, a tree root thereafter or even a boy scout.

    A few lengths of 4-6 inch PVC sewer pipe is a small investment and can hold a serious amount of supplies for an indefinite period of time. Just hope some wise ass with a backhoe and too much time on his hands doesn’t come along.

  • jared November 16, 2015, 5:32 pm

    all in all i think the info in the article is helpful to anyone trying to look forward and take care of themselves or their family. if anybody thinks the local police dept or sheriffs office is on their side when things come to the point the author is trying to make then nobody can help them anyway. self preservation is just that- provided by yourself.

  • Winston November 16, 2015, 5:06 pm

    If the electronic grid is down in places for some reason, one’s GPS might may or may work depending on other central government priorities. Seems unwise to bury things, and then rely on an adversarial government’s information service to locate the property.

    • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 5:15 pm

      The purpose of using the GPS is if you need to send someone else who may not recognize the landmarks, or if you don’t recognize them ten years down the road. You can’t really depend on roadsigns or other distinct landmarks to be there. GPS is a satellite system, and it most likely will be monkeyed with, like it was when it was first introduced. But for now, what harm will it do to note the GPS coordinates? You could technically use them with paper map also. There are articles here on having electronic and paper topo maps for your locations.

      • Masterblaster January 18, 2016, 4:10 pm

        GPS data can also be embedded in adobe maps, and highlighted – so the gps coord can be used and referenced against a paper or electronic map.

  • Freedom Tsunami November 16, 2015, 4:00 pm

    To Paul Helinski, the author of the above:

    Your denial gives Polacks a bad name and besmirches the intelligence of Bohemies like me. This comes from a farm-raised country boy who has shoveled (literally) a lot of “absolute” horseshit, cowshit and pigshit in his life and I can tell you unequivocally that what I wrote above IS NOT HORSESHIT or any of the above, absolute or otherwise. The effects of EMP’s resulting from nuclear detonations has been known since the atmospheric nuclear tests of the ’50’s., having been experienced by the military.

    You may know that the electronics of the period were hard wired and the communications equipment affected consisted of vacuum tubes in the early ’50’s, not circuit board components and transistors which came after ’58. Even these larger, sturdier components were affected although they were not nearly as susceptible to an EMP surge as the printed circuitry and computers of today which carry currents measured in much lower voltages.

    Your challenge is to name just ONE industry related to 21st Century life in America that isn’t linked to computers or totally dependent on them for operational success. The power grid is controlled by computers as is the collection and distribution of Natural Gas. Your telephones are mini-computers whether hand held or desk mounted, and most systems (companies providing your communication services) are using satellites and cell towers to relay messages. Those satellites over the affected area would be destroyed by the same EMP’s effect going outward from Earth as ground-based systems are by the Earth-bound force of the EMP. Your local co-op telephone company has not hardened against the EMP threat, and likely cannot afford to do so.

    Cars, trucks, farm tractors, heavy equipment – ALL have computer controlled electronic circuitry today which would get fried unless protected by a Faraday Cage type environment. None that I know of have such protection. Food warehousing and distribution is controlled by computers as is the environmentally controlled atmosphere that preserves food. All require power … but the grid is down and fuel production, storage and distribution to run backup generators (if they are operable) requires power and relies on computer controls, too.

    Natural Gas to heat homes and businesses? Storage and distribution is computer controlled, too. Grocery stores lose refrigeration as do you and everyone else in your homes. If people don’t starve to death they will freeze to death in the colder Northern climates. Can you imagine the chaos at all levels of society this would bring about? Over the course of one year we would suffer a significant depopulation in the ten’s – perhaps hundreds – of millions of people.

    So, in your “humble opinion”, Mr Helinski, specifically WHAT PART of what I wrote above is “horseshit”, ? Hmmmm?

    • Administrator November 16, 2015, 4:09 pm

      Why don’t you stop making a fool of yourself and read the EMP article on the actual research. You didnt even get the height right. Nor do you understand the basic concept of turning a wave into energy.

    • k.os May 5, 2017, 3:31 pm

      Read the book
      one second after

  • Peterman November 16, 2015, 3:15 pm

    The anti police fear-mongering that I see constantly on these survival blogs is absurd. I’m a young, new officer from a very blue state. Every officer I know is vehemently pro-gun and wouldn’t be a part of the mass confiscation you’ve dreamed up while wearing your tinfoil hat in your mothers basement. The rank and file US military would also have no part in unconstitutional action against the citizenry.

    • Administrator November 16, 2015, 3:54 pm

      Great. One more on our side. Come ti miami and meet the storm troopers you will be fighting

  • Oaf November 16, 2015, 2:59 pm

    Putting anything toxic or corrosive, like fuel tabs and fuel alcohol, in a container with food and/or firearms is a bad idea. Best to get a separate, small container for those items and bury it with the larger one. I know the point of the article is a one container does it all, but if you’re only using one it’s best to leave the stuff that could possibly cause harm out. Better safe than sorry.

    And I have to admit I agree with most of Geeztards comments. Local LE will be the least of my worries when TSHTF. Even IF local LE were somehow coerced to participate in total gun confiscation, going door to door as you propose, it would require almost the entire LE staff of the whole County in most of “flyover” America to canvas just one neighborhood. The casualty rate among them in just the first few neighborhoods alone would soon dissuade even the most fervent government boot licker to think twice about continuing. And like I said, it’s a big IF that they would participate at all. Maybe the big city cops, who never grew up in a gun culture, would do so but I know for a FACT that in 90% of rural America the vast majority of cops would not participate in kicking in Joe Sixpack’s door to confiscate his guns. It just aint gonna happen.

    But saying that, I do have contingency plans including hidden stashes. After all, better safe than sorry.

    i

    • Administrator November 16, 2015, 4:02 pm

      From where would you derive that solid fuel could be a problem? Did you just make that up because had nothing genuine to contribute?

      • Oaf November 16, 2015, 4:36 pm

        Maybe if you would bother to look up some of the bad things hexamine, triox, and other chemicals used in fuel tabs and fuel alcohol can do to food and metal, instead of shooting off your mouth in snide, childish comments, you’d actually learn something! I swear you gotta be a 16 year old boy sitting in mommy’s basement thinking up some of these fantastic scenarios!
        Instead of participating in a useful discussion, you immediately berate anyone who does’t agree with you or offers other ideas contrary to your “expert” opinion.

        Grow up!

        • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 4:49 pm

          It isn’t a matter of growing up. I have stored solid fuel, both the regular solid alcohol and trioxane, and they have never shown any evidence of damage to the outside package. The Esbit stove in the pictures that you see has been sitting with solid fuel for probably 30 years and it is not corroded. In other words, you did just make it up because it sounded good. You have no experience with actual solid fuel damaging anything. And if you bothered to follow the links in the article, you would see that you don’t need to make anything up. The truth, if you can face it, is much worse than any one of us could have imagined. Most likely you’ll wander off into your own dreamworld though, where all of this is theoretical nonsense to hubub about, and where solid fuel leaks through its package and damages its surroundings.

          • Oaf November 16, 2015, 6:16 pm

            I left a 2 1/2″ S&W Mod 19 in a 50 cal ammo can that had some opened triox tabs, along with other assorted stuff, in it and forgot about if for over a year. When I did open it the gun’s finish was pitted and had a white, frosted look to it. All of the case hardened steel parts had a fine rust on it.
            But by all means, don’t take anybody else’s advice since you are the expert here.

            As for some of your links, methinks you need to add another layer of tin foil to your hat. Them chem trails done ate through the first few layers!

          • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 6:24 pm

            Yea it’s crazy nonsense. You should just ignore it. Interesting that you had that problem. I’m going to try that. Pitted seems impossible with the amount of oxygen in a .50 cal ammo can. If the can was airtight, which it probably was not, there shouldn’t be enough O2 in there to cause a deep rust problem. I think you blamed the triox without considering other possibilities. Steel needs oxygen to oxidize.

          • Oaf November 16, 2015, 7:16 pm

            You do realize that even the word itself would give you at least the slightest hint that trioxane contains its own oxygen.

          • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 7:47 pm

            Nice try but nah, it’s 03. The chemical formula is C3H6O3. The military tabs are actually combined with hexamine.
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,3,5-Trioxane
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexamine_fuel_tablet
            and the material data sheet even mentions storage, and says nothing about it breaking down into corrosive elements. The chief concern seems to be the material igniting accidentally, not that it bleeds of any gas, let alone O2, when stored.
            http://zenstoves.net/MSDS/MSDSEsbit.pdf

            When you burn it all kinds of nasty gases come out, but the information on the substance itself seems to jive with my experience. I love to be wrong, because I learn something hopefully important, as wood we all, but you are just grabbing for straws to try to be right when you aren’t.

          • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 8:03 pm

            I don’t think it ever would have made it through military trials if it broke down into something that leaked through the package and became corrosive. I have opened trioxane packs after 10 years and some were not solid anymore, but the packages were unharmed.

        • Oaf November 16, 2015, 11:13 pm

          What do you think the O3 stands for, three orgasms? By all means Mr. Survival expert, put them in every one of your stashes. In fact, you should include some in each and every one of your sealed food stores as well. After all, they’re made under government contract to the lowest bidder. What possibly could go wrong? Everyone just loves yummy formaldehyde and ammonia in their chow.

          • Paul Helinski November 17, 2015, 7:31 am

            O3 is ozone dufus, and it is doesn’t oxidize steel. There is also no reason for it to leave the compound. You see how lazy minded people who do no actual research get pissy when you show them actual evidence of something they should think deeper about? It’s funny how only the people who are wrong think I just don’t like to be challenged. Cut your prozac dose, turn off the screens for a few hours and go rollerblading for heavens sake. There is a lot to think about in the world right now and if you cared enough to read this column you may be salvageable.

          • Oaf November 18, 2015, 12:30 am

            Your ignorance of basic chemistry is astounding. And yet you call me a dufus?

            Carry on Mr. Survival expert….carry on….

          • Paul Helinski November 18, 2015, 6:51 am

            OMG you want to continue. If you aren’t a dufus, explain the “basic chemistry” to us. We would love to learn from your expansive knowledge.

  • Silence Nevermore November 16, 2015, 2:55 pm

    I’ve always wanted the opportunity to use the following FICTIONAL bible quote from the great cult classic “Pulp Fiction” having had it memorized for the last 20 yrs. So when that inevitable time comes and they come knocking on my door with their ILLEGALLY obtained list of all the firearms they think I own, they will bear witness to my Constitutional 2nd Amendment Right to bear arms as I quote the following with such profound conviction, it makes the hairs stand up on the back of their necks!!!
    And it will either be the last words I ever speak, OR the last words they ever hear!!!

    “Ezekiel 25:17. “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you.”

    So if you come onto my private property with any intent to “relocate” my family to a FEMA detention center for our “protection” because of the red dot on my mailbox(which only means I’m a newspaper subscriber), or ANY attempt to unjustly infringe on my Constitutional Rights.
    Let it be known that any attempt to illegally confiscate my lawfully obtained and rightfully owned firearms from my possession, will lead me to believe that our once democratic government has become defunct, therefore becoming unrecognized.
    I will calmly and clearly denounce the federal government as a sovereign state and proudly identify myself as a Patriot of the Grand Republic of Texas and that the land beneath their feet is located well within its established boundaries, therefore this unsolicited intrusion can and will be considered as an act of war and that I will use any means necessary to protect my family, property and all possessions that are rightfully mine, including the use of deadly force if I believe myself or my family to be in immediate mortal danger.

    So as an effort in all fairness, may I recommend the following…..
    IF YOU COME FOR MY GUNS….. ITS PROBABLY BEST THAT YOU BRING SOME OF YOUR OWN!!!

    • Dave November 17, 2015, 11:30 pm

      AMEN BROTHER!!!

  • Greg November 16, 2015, 2:55 pm

    I am a 57 year old male that has had firearms my entire life. I still remember well the “Fear mongers” spreading the very real possibility of Thermonuclear warfare with the Soviet union. That said, I think that you can draw a line between being mildly prepared and going off the deep end. I don’t trust the police,I definitely don’t trust our politicians and have little faith in the “goodness” of mankind in general. I have faith in Gods grace and can only pray I don’t live to see anything like what was written here happen. But having a SCAR 17s and 400 rounds of ammunition,a Glock 19 with a butt load of cartridges sure makes me sleep a bit better.

  • Graydon Wall November 16, 2015, 2:52 pm

    Paul, giving the cylinder some consideration for ammo storage; you can use some thin wall plastic tubing to make bullet magazines to slide your rounds into. Just like a tube magazine on a rifle or shotgun. they come in 3′ lengths (various diameters) available on Amazon. Should work good as long as you fill them horizontally. Cap them on either end and you have more anti-corrosion insurance. They would fit well on either side of your rifle and be an efficient use of space.

  • Harry November 16, 2015, 2:41 pm

    Fine & dandy for an area with a dry climate. When I was a teen here in northern Illinois, one summer as an experiment, I buried a tightly sealed Mason jar in the ground about a foot deep. Inside was a bunch of shredded newspaper. It went through winter and next summer, (about a year later) I dug it up. It was totally saturated with water. I suppose the enemy was Osmosis. How do you stop that?

  • buster November 16, 2015, 2:10 pm

    these containers are not as cheap as they are shown to be. the shipping is in the $30+ range. that doubles the cost. pvc has got to be cheaper and you will probably get multiple containers from one pipe. added advantage – make them whatever size you want.

  • LKE November 16, 2015, 12:42 pm

    Do not store anything with water in it (Tuna in water), the package will freeze, break open and release all that water into your storage. Not a good idea.

    • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 12:43 pm

      Those dry tuna packs would not be of concern. There is almost no water in them and they won’t split and break like a can.

  • Geeztards November 16, 2015, 12:10 pm

    You seriously make my head hurt with all the foolish innuendo about ‘small town’ or ‘local police’. First of all…yeah, I AM a cop (so save the energy of the ‘revelation’/accusation….second, I’ve been one 20 years and I’m WELL up the rank structure at the state level. I’m also an avid shooter since childhood, a Life Member of the NRA, and an owner of several Title II (“Class 3”) firearms.

    What I can tell you is the cops aren’t your enemies. Yeah, there are limited examples of gun confiscation (Katrina actually being about the only one!). That was driven by a bunch of animals roaming the streets and killing each other, as well as shooting at cops, medics, utility workers, and any other available target. Anyone attempting to restore basic services was at SERIOUS risk of being beaten, robbed, or worse. It was like something from Mad Max. The goal wasn’t to take guns from ‘honest/average citizens’, it was to stop animals from roaming the streets settling scores and preying of the weak.

    Maybe it could and should have been done differently….but name an event that overwhelms resources and catches people unprepared for the size and scope of the event that can’t be armchair quarter backed to death…?! There were lessons learned and most jurisdictions in states where individual rights matter have taken action to put guidance in place BEFORE another event. Feather than just wringing their hands and criticizing what people living in miserable conditions trying to help decent people did 12 years ago.

    Point being, cops are citizens. They’re your neighbors. They live and raise their families among you, and they’d lay their lives down to protect yours. Your repeated insinuations that somehow there is a grand conspiracy involving the cops, some ‘shadow government’, and all the rest of “those people” is ignorant at best….insulting and intentionally inflammatory at worst.

    Study after study shows that WELL over 90% of cops (IN LUDING “YOUNG” COPS) do NOT support gun control. That crap comes from big city chiefs, who are nothing but political hacks, just like the mayors they serve. They don’t speak or THINK for line cops….and line cops don’t blindly follow orders.

    Crises are by nature disorganized and poorly coordinated in the early stages. Some bad decisions are inevitably made (generally human error, not evil intent or ‘secret Macchinations of shadow government operatives or bogeymen’). You may do well to fear many of the Feds. You SHOULD have opposed the Patriot Act, instead of trading some false sense of increased safety for so many personal liberties! See….that’s the thing….government doesn’t usually have to “take” your freedom. Most folks gladly and willingly give it away. This should tell any of you how a gun confiscation would go (let’s examine recent history ala Patriot Act). Something happens to scare the sheep who really just want to live in blissful ignorance…head in sand…pretending bad things could never happen to them….basically as long as the beers still cold in the fridge and reality tv is uninterrupted, life is good…..can anyone say Roman coliseum and pablum to keep the unwashed masses distracted and entertained while things collapse around them??!!

    Anyway, something happens to scare the sheep. They DEMAND action so they can ‘feel safe’ and go back to watching Kim Kardashian (or worse) what’s its name Jenner. Government declares all guns are to be turned in. (Like when they declared fellow citizens would be confined in internment camps….or that most of the personal privacy you had before 9/11 would be forfeited to a surveillance state and PatAct). Well guess what!….just like in those examples….75% agree, about 20% disagree but go along because they’re outvoted…and about 5% disagree and speak out….only to be dismissed as cooks, or just ignored (or post I message boards to others who feel the same…just preaching to choir to vent).

    Point is…your fellow citizens line up, do their ‘civic duty’ and willingly hand their guns over. Now, let’s say you’re smart and you buried one (or more)). Fat lot of good it does you underground. And despite the successes reported here, time is against you!! If the weather doesn’t kill the gun with rust…..something far worse is happening! Our country’s short attention span is moving on. Older folks are dying, young are born into a new society who never knew what it was like to own a gun (or a cell phone that didn’t track your every move…and now your heart rate, sleep cycles, and every word spoken or typed and sent out to be monitored….THATS SCARY CRAZY SHIT THAT SHOWS YOU JUST HOW FAST PEOPLE ADAPT AND CREATE A NEW “NORMAL”). Your buried guns are useless when buried….and IF you dig them up, a friend, neighbor, or even family member who has adjusted to the new “normal” will turn you in because they will actually believer they’re protecting YOU (before you do something “crazy” because nobody “needs” a gun), or the huddled (and unarmed) masses of sheep.

    This was way longer than I meant it to be. But, here’s my message-
    1) Knock off the stupid crap about cops. We’re generally there with you, but getting sick of your insults and suspicions. Guess who trains the ‘young obedient ones’….yeah, us old crusty ones. We get as tired of their mindless follower mentality as we do of being insulted and mistrusted by you. Basically, we’re sick of their shit and yours and are trying to figure out how we were ever as dumb as the young pup next to us (20 years ago an older cop wondered that about us too)…..but more importantly, how people we share a love of guns and freedom with have somehow decided they hate us almost as much as the liberal/socialist set does….the ones we expected it from.
    2) you national guard is basically the same. They’re ‘citizen soldiers’ who live beside you and think a lot like you. Don’t waste time worrying about them
    3) Worry more that the sheep are so easily convinced to willingly surrender freedom (as in examples above) and societal memory is SO short. We’ve become a soft nation who will surrender just about anything to stay ‘fat/happy/comfortable’.

    So, instead of wondering what plan cops have to take your gun, worry that after about 6 months, the weight of the new chains will be resting easily on your fellow citizens, gun ownership and personal liberties alike are all too often willingly sacrificed for the false sense of safety and “doing SOMETHING”, and whether the container leaks or simply rusts over time…..IF we ever get there…those buried guns will stay buried and will be of no value (other than possibly to future archaeologists) because society won’t tolerate you digging them up and after the first few moments, the time to fight has passed. Each day will leave you more alone in your memories of ‘how it used to be’.

    Now

    • Administrator November 16, 2015, 12:20 pm

      If you bothered to read the links in the article, instead of sharing your “knowledge” with us, you would find that your perspective of your rights and what the future holds will be very different than what you think. The older officers are indeed training the young ones, and the young ones will be your jailers, or killers, when extend and pretend eventually runs out.

    • Art Frailey November 16, 2015, 1:34 pm

      “Geez”
      Your article is most remarkable ! This is exactly what I tell most people about the police. (I do not even call them ‘cops’, a slang word taken from ‘one who steels’.
      Your primary point is well received by this old retired Sailor. Keep up the good work !

      • JayC November 16, 2015, 6:52 pm

        “COP” comes from the copper badges they used to wear.

        • randy larkin December 21, 2015, 9:39 am

          cop has been brought here from early England : it is short for {constable on patrol} TRUE MEANING, check it out!

    • Graydon Wall November 16, 2015, 3:06 pm

      Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I am glad you feel the way you do. Lets all hope and pray that we don’t ever lose our 2nd amendment rights. It would be a sad day for us all. There are some remarkable similarities to our society and those of pre- WW2 Germany and Rome. You are spot on about the complacency of our society. It amazes me that with so much history on the subject; we are marching down that same road, and as you said “willingly”.

    • Grifhunter November 16, 2015, 3:21 pm

      Geezrtards essay is primarily to awaken what is the true threat. There will potentially be gun confiscation, but not unless and until Heller v DC or the 2nd Amendment is repealed on some political level. At that time, you can start burying.

      In the event of a wholesale apocalyptic event, don’t expect the officers, young or old to spend their last moments on earth driving a cruiser and listening for orders to confiscate stuff over the police radio.. They have families and will scramble like everyone else. This type of EOTWAYKI event will potentially be where you might find a 75 year old buried bolt action useful. Hopefully you’ll be able to access it. But if the scenario in #1 hasn’t happened yet, you should still have all your hoarded guns and ammo in your safe.

      And the greatest threat to individual gun ownership in the US is the fuds and preppers IMHO. The fuds, because they can’t comprehend any gun not shooting birdshot or deer slugs. The preppers because of their minuteman, from my cold dead hands fantasy of using their hoarded guns to fight back. The preppers with this 3 Percent fantasy sit back and take little to no action politically to fight gun control because they are self sure of their future role of joining up with the others gunowners on the common to fight off the confiscating government agents. “Why should I donate to the NRA? When they come for my guns I’ll just shoot the damn cops in the face, …etc etc etc”. I saw this first hand when NY passed its SAFE act 2 years ago. We couldn’t get 40 members of a 10,000 member gun club to commit to a 3 hours bus ride to Albany to protest this thing. And these people are going to join your resistance fight with arms in the clutch?

      Cries of “will not comply”, patriotic historic quotes, and private hoarding of arms and ammo are the stuff of lazy dreamers who are letting the anti-freedom element build momentum. Geeztards description of the sheep is dead on. You ain’t shooting your way to freedom no matter what the scenario; either you work financially and actively through the political process NOW or you will lose your guns. Developing new shooters who aren’t fat old white guys, funding pro gun groups with serious annual donations (at least the price of a box of quality center fire ammo, better yet donate the cash value of one gun), educating your neighbors about guns, and staying in politician’s faces is more real world effective than dozens of buried surplus rifles.

      • Masterblaster January 18, 2016, 4:23 pm

        Just like in Burns, OR – where a large percentage of the population lives off the largess of the gob’mnt and city police departments and counties who receive federal grants for funding will refuse to ignore orders when it’s going to affect their lives and incomes and family’s well being. Just do some research on studies that show how long it takes prison guards to become dehumanized in their treatment to their victims when placed in that type of environment for any length of time. Remember – the Gestapo were “only following orders” and very few of the front line criminals ever paid a price for their actions.

    • SSGRick November 16, 2015, 4:15 pm

      Thanks Officer, I have been waiting a long time to hear that from one of you guys. I never assumed that local Police would be on the side of any take away program, I know almost ALL County Sheriffs and their Deputies won’t. Not the ones I’ve talked to anyway and the Sheriff is the big dog in the County when it comes to law and order.
      Sadly you are right about the sheeple, they are the ones who put us in this mess. Them and school administrators, they are the ones responsible for the pussification of America!
      Voting and protest is the only way to change this along with education about our HISTORY and firearms and what part they played and WHY!

      • Administrator November 16, 2015, 4:27 pm

        There are a ton of great police officers out there. But the armored vehicles arent being purchased for nothing. They have recruited plenty of brownshirts to do the dirtywork. Check out killedbypolice.com.

        • Mason Hamilton November 16, 2015, 6:40 pm

          Officer Geeztards tells us what we need to hear regarding the majority of police officers. Unfortunately, you make a good counter point – Administrator. People come in all shapes, sizes and mentalities. Police are no different – they are us. Most are good competent and professional, but enough will always support the wrong agenda. Historically, tyrants seem to always find a way to convince enough people (Brown Shirts) to help them take whatever they want – starting with freedom.

          Winston Churchill said (but probably wasn’t the first politician to recognize it. Since him Carl Rove and Rahm Emanuel have been credited with it.) “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Popular perception can be deliberately and strategically altered.

          There is now a profession called – “PM” – perception management – the fine art of turning bull shit into apparent reality. PM companies create the “truth” needed to persuade the public to do what their clients pay them so well to do. The internet has become their most successful tool. PM is used by anyone with a major agenda and the financial resources to accomplish it – the perception of ethics can also be managed.

          The Pentagon hires PM specialty companies , big oil, politicians and arms dealers hire them, etc. There’s a good read by the mainstream/best selling fiction author David Baldacci – “The Whole Truth.” It describes how PM might be being used now, can, could and or will continue to be used – unless the avg. person starts to suspect and recognize it for what it is when he/she sees it. The middle east (arms and oil) is just one reality of PM being used to today – and how the US public was conned into buying into the Middle East and the Patriot Act.

  • Lennie Ost November 16, 2015, 11:32 am

    I do agree that having a emergency gun and food buried as a failsafe, is a great idea.
    But a Mosin Nagant?
    Really? Bad choice of firearm in my opinion.
    I would bury an AR or an Ak, for sure.
    And also a 9 mm carbine, as 9 mm is pretty damn common, and you can bury lots of rounds with it as well.

  • Keene November 16, 2015, 9:51 am

    I have available to me some 10″ pvc water main and was considering that as a way to bury necessities. I am testing it with a threaded plug to verify it’s usefulness.

    • SSGRick November 16, 2015, 3:57 pm

      Look around the home depot, lowes places first they sell a closure that has it’s own rubber gasket that fits inside a coupling. It compresses the rubber gasket and seals that way by means of a wing nut. More expensive than the threaded type but definitely worth the money if you want an air tight, moisture proof seal.

  • Michael November 16, 2015, 9:39 am

    “There is also the very real possibility that the master plan involves massive gun confiscations. And when they really do come for your guns, don’t think that it is going to be something that you can fight. Even local police departments have been outfitted with thermal imaging and smart weapons at this point. Unless you are part of a significant resistance force, your best bet is to let them in and let them take your guns, and hope they leave you some of your food.”

    In some states, like where I live, there is a constitutional amendment and state law that state & local law enforcement shall not only NOT participate in gun confiscations, they must refuse to help the Feds if they try it. So our local LE and even state LE will not be a problem. This will not stop the Feds, but the feds alone will take a LONG time to round up these guns, especially since in my State there is no gun registration – so the Feds have no idea what guns you own. Even the 4473s – the only record of which specific guns you bought at an FFL – are only kept physically at the FFL and are not transmitted to state or federal agencies, and most have a ‘plan’ for their records if such a tyrannical over-reach is attempted. But it is still a good idea to have a plan B, and even C. I have buried assets in 3 locations all over our Commonwealth, and used similar containers as yours in the article, and I can attest that they work very well.

    Nice article!

  • PATRICK HUGHES November 16, 2015, 8:05 am

    The seals are the weak spots. Many of these containers are old and the seals have dried and cracked in the storage depot or in your garage…….After packing the containers, seal the covers with melted paraffin, from any canning department of any grocery store. The smallest most powerful rifle is the M1 (or M2, if you can find one), 30 Caliber Carbine. However, they have gotten expensive. The Universal 30cal is a cheaper version, and works just as well as the WWII versions. This rifle won WWII and I carried one in Vietnam. It is tough, small, simple, and always works.

    • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 8:14 am

      It has the same seals, and though I’m sure we would all like to congratulate you on how smart you are to explain all of this, the point of the article is to test if your worries are valid with these particular cans. As you can see from the pictures, they are not old and dry rotted at all. This guy has recent surplus, that will be fine for a decade or more.

      • Kris November 16, 2015, 8:45 am

        What do you actually gain from being a dick? Are you vindicated now that you made your “own” point?

        Could the seals possibly be bad? I bet they could be! Check the deals and deal with wax, especially if you are burying something – it can’t hurt

    • Nealwhite1 November 16, 2015, 9:21 am

      surplus cans seals on the cans I have got over the years (20-30 cans over the last 25 years) have been good ,buy from a good seller and you should not have a problem with bad seals can be wiped with petroleum jelly ,but I do like the melted paraffin after closing can also maybe coat with moly or Lucas axle grease and put a plastic bag over the can and push into the grease put gun in gun sock and a plastic gun bag and ammo in food saver vacuum bagged same with the food wrap saver bags in butcher paper to help prevent nicks in the bags it may also help draw off some moisture too.

      I also love my m44 carbine probably my favorite of the20+ guns I have owned if you can not shot them at close range may-be you can burn them with the 18″s of flames the come out the end of barrel !! LOL

    • Masterblaster January 18, 2016, 4:28 pm

      A .22 Magnum has better penetration at 100 yards than does a .30 carbine. I’ve tested it.

  • Rick November 16, 2015, 7:40 am

    If they come for our guns, they will see a up rise like never before.

    • Mike November 16, 2015, 8:12 am

      Unless that uprising is coordinated, it will be in vain…. Can we put aside petty differences and come together?

      • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 8:25 am

        We are long past that. The weapons of mass distraction have worked and it is every man for himself. The idiots who think they are going to successfully rebel are either full of it or they will die quickly.

        • Fake_Richard_Feynman November 16, 2015, 9:15 am

          The only “weapons of mass destruction,” combined, that have ever been deployed killed fewer people than LeMay killed in one night of firebombing Tokyo. (The phrase “weapons of mass destruction” is an overhyped dysphemism that has no relation to reality.) If anything, fear conventional arms. There is a much larger supply of them.

          Are you suggesting that anyone would choose to use nuclear weapons on our own soil? The bogeyman you are afraid of has to live here afterwards. The bogeyman can’t live without the resources any more than the freeman. You really think someone would want to/could wipe out ⅔ of the resources in the US and survive?

          • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 9:23 am

            Distraction not destruction

          • Freedom Tsunami November 16, 2015, 10:55 am

            One nuclear device exploded in the atmosphere 50 miles up, from horizon to horizon visible from the point of detonation, would leave all physical infrasttructure untouched, would not kill anyone directly but would fry all electronics, computers and communications (anything that carries a current), disable all transportation for humans, commodities and food, destroy the electrical grid, render fuel transfer systems inoperable including natural gas distribution for heating homes and cooking, and much more. It’s called an EMP attack (Electro-magnetic Pulse).

          • Paul Helinski November 16, 2015, 11:41 am

            That is absolute horseshit, and there is a substantive EMP article here.

      • Old Guy November 16, 2015, 9:27 am

        Obama has been the great divider, for a reason. United we stand, divided we fall is a wise and thoughtful saying,borne of experience.
        We are closer than ever to this becoming a reality.

      • DaveW December 21, 2015, 10:30 am

        On the recommendation of the governor of Massachusetts, soldiers were, under orders, were dispersed across the countryside with instructions to confiscate weapons and munitions in the hands of the people, in order to “control them”.

        On the night of April 18, 1775, the reason for Paul Revere’s ride because the colonists knew what was coming but not when, hundreds of British troops set off from Boston toward Concord, Massachusetts, in order to seize weapons and ammunition stockpiled there by colonists. Early the next morning, the soldiers reached Lexington, where approximately 70 minutemen had gathered on the village green. Someone suddenly fired a shot—it’s uncertain which side—and a melee ensued. When the brief clash ended, eight colonists lay dead and at least an equal amount were injured, while one soldier was wounded. The soldiers continued on to nearby Concord, where that same day they encountered armed resistance from a group of colonists at the town’s North Bridge. Gunfire was exchanged, leaving two colonists and three soldiers dead. Afterward, the British retreated back to Boston, skirmishing with colonial militiamen along the way and suffering a number of casualties; the Revolutionary War had begun.

        The incident at the North Bridge later was memorialized by Ralph Waldo Emerson in his 1837 poem “Concord Hymn,” whose opening stanza is: “By the rude bridge that arched the flood/Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled/Here once the embattled farmers stood/And fired the shot heard round the world.”

        Unlike Australians who were duped into compliance, we know what the anti-gun agenda is and what lengths and means they will use to achieve their goal. They may confiscate some guns, but they will set loose a bloody campaign, just as the British Army did. It will be the second shot heard ’round the world.

        Strange that the progressives seek to take away the freedoms that many of their ancestors fought and died for after generations of bragging about their part of the country being the place where those rights and freedoms began.

    • Whyawannaknow November 16, 2015, 8:25 am

      After you dig them back up?

    • Mikelasnicov November 16, 2015, 11:36 am

      As much as I like the idea of Molon Labe, it is impractical and not tactically or strategically sound. The better option is buy and build weapons that are bought from a private sale off the books, and have some redundancy. So hide at least some of your stuff where it will be highly unlikely to be found. When or if they do come for your stuff, give them what they think is all of it. The problem with open resistance to big brother is that they will kill you. Bear in mind that after they kill you, that will mean you are no longer part of the resistance, you’re no longer a problem for the people you want to resist. It’s like the old sayings, live to fight another day and choose your battles. The ones who are open and vocal in their resistance will be the first ones rounded up and killed, and you won’t know when they’re coming.

      For those people who are looking at PVC tubes I have a couple of pointers. I’m a professional plumber so I know something about this. When you are ready to glue this stuff up there are some things to know. First of all the white pipe is PVC and it is the best one. Secondly the glue is different for the various types of pipes. The universal cement is not as good as the one made specifically for PVC. You also have to use a PVC cleaner on the fitting and the pipe. First have everything ready to go before cleaning or gluing anything. When you’re ready clean the pipe and fitting. Next apply the cement to both the pipe and fitting, and you have to work fast. Next push the fitting onto the pipe and when it bottoms out, twist the fitting a quarter of a turn. Now this is the important part, you can not let go or it will push itself back apart. You must hold the fitting tight and count to 30. It will reach full strength in a couple of hours. Also when you go to thread the cap on you should use teflon tape. When you wrap the threads with teflon tape you need to go in the right direction. If you’re looking at the male threads with the end of the pipe facing you, you should wrap it clockwise. Also once you have started wrapping you should also be stretching the tape slightly. Use a strap wrench to crank it down enough, but don’t over tighten or you can crack the fitting. If you have old cement that is looking more like a thick gel, throw it out because it’s bad. Also for the bigger pipes, you should get a bigger, better applicator than the little one that comes with the cement, they only cost a dollar or two.

      • Normmorris November 17, 2015, 1:38 pm

        Really excellent advice on the PVC here, thanks. I would have made several mistakes here and not known it, because I’ve worked a bit with pvc before on a small scale.n one thing though, m store has lots of large diameter black pvc, but less white, which is mostly sprinkler pipe diameter, so I’ll have to look for that. Thanks again.

      • ClifH December 21, 2015, 12:41 pm

        Look around. My small town had a sewer project several years ago and ended up with surplus pipes. I was able to buy 2 each 20′ pipes in 4″, 6″ & 12″ black sewer pipes. I cut these to varied lengths. The 4″ pipes were easy to find caps for. The larger ones I had to improvise, due to costs, using plastic paint cans. I used “Great Stuff” in the bottom of the cans, inserted the pipes, filled the external void with “Great Stuff”. When finished, I sprayed the entire pipe with automotive undercoat found at the hardware store.
        The pipes were filled with dried and canned food, rice for desiccant, weapons, ammo and foil wrapped radios. Buried them 3 feet down. All are geolocated plus marked on a water proofed topo map.
        Dug one up today, after reading this article. Everything was perfect after 2 years, though it was a bit of a chore to saw away the end cap to check.
        The sign of genius is when two minds think alike.

  • john November 16, 2015, 7:32 am

    Well Patriots, I monitor some of the Left Wing sites and can tell you that if Hillary is elected, they will be coming for your AR’s. And maybe all of your guns. These people are scared of their own shadows and have no concept whatever of Self Defense. They see no reason what so ever for you to even own a gun of any kind. Of course they will say “You” are just paranoid, we are not coming for your guns, we are just for common sense laws and responsible ownership – Yeah Right. The Chicken S*it Mf*rs are lying, and they are good at it.

    • Robert November 16, 2015, 1:34 pm

      It’s too easy for us to kid ourselves and think that the problem is coming only from the “left wing.” There are plenty of plutocrats from both sides of the political fence who aim to control. Right now, the left wing is the major (albeit appropriate) scapegoat. But do you really think that if those same left wingers went away tomorrow, our problems would be over? Think again. The central bankers control the political world. And yes, I mean “world.” They’re perfectly happy to have us apply our microscopes to what we think the underlying problems are, and feed us meaningless news stories to divert our attention, while major pieces are being moved on their macroscopic chessboard.
      Yet, both my parents were victims of the Soviet Gulag, and if I learned anything from them, it’s that I’m going to do everything I can not to go down that path, while there still is a Second Amendment. And long live the Republic.

  • John November 16, 2015, 7:27 am

    Very good article here.
    One point – zero the gun Now, you don’t want to waste precious ammo zeroing if you have to use this gun later. Mosin Nagant good choice. Cheap, simple, powerful.
    Also you can take 6 or 8in PVC pipe – cut off, glue on screw-on end caps. Tested mine outside for 1yr. Worked fine.
    No intrusion at all.
    Put gun in plastic seal bag you can get on line. Bag w/gun inside pipe.

  • Mike Kovich November 16, 2015, 6:56 am

    Is this a wake-up call for us?? In the comfort of my heated home with plenty of perishable food items, adorned with slippers and pj’s, I read this article by the light of my taken for granted lamp and wonder how soon this scenario the author has proposed will/may happen. The article scares me and gives me pause to wonder if I should immediately run outside with army shovel in hand and start burying items in my small readily available ammo cans. Should I do this under the cover of darkness so no one sees me? How much should I bury? While I ponder this what if story how will I prepare to protect my family from such an event? I cannot afford to dismiss the possibilities with unmitigated apathetic sarcasm. As the morning sun rises the assault on our 2nd amendment rights continues this very day and I am unable to dismiss this article by stating it probably won’t happen. It just might! In a moment I will go look in the mirror and say, “Self, what do you intend to do lest it does?”

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