Survival...Crossbow?

Shotgun Build : Reflex Sight

It's time to move on to the next stage of my survival shotgun build. The base model is a Mossberg 500 Defender with 18" barrel. In the last post, we installed a SideSaddle shot shell holder on the side of the receiver. In this post we will install a picatinny rail on the top of the receiver along with an NC-Star reflex sight.

Picatinny rail kit with NC-Star reflex sight

 Remove factory installed screws in the top of the receiver.

 Mount picatinny rail to receiver top with included screws and allen wrench.

 Slide reflex sight onto rail and tighten. Sight works best near the front of the receiver.

The sight comes with four settings. This is the classic crosshair.

 Simple dot.

 Circle and crosshair.

Doughnut.

I am very pleased with this install. The sight is very light and provides rapid target acquisition. Total install time: about 5 minutes.

Remington VersaMax Auto-Loading Shotgun

Bushido Monday

"There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within."

Morihei Ueshiba, founder Aikido

One Tough Scattergun

Survival Handgun Build

My survival handgun is the Glock 23. I prefer the .40 cal for several reasons, but one big reason is the recent order by DHS for millions of these rounds. In a SHTF scenario, the government will always have ammo.

Safety checked for your protection.

Regardless of caliber, the Glock is often presented as the gold standard for wilderness sidearms. They are rugged, reliable, and simple. They also have a nifty feature: a hollow space behind the mag well. Today, I am installing a plug for this hole, along with a nifty survival feature.

The makeshift storage compartment can be seen just behind the mag well.

This plug caps the hole, using the lanyard hole in the grip as a latch.

There isn't much that can fit in this little compartment - some matches, maybe fishing line. But I wanted to use this space as efficiently as possible. In what kind of scenarios might I be stuck in the middle of the wilderness with only a sidearm? Not a good one. And in any scenario like that, my first concern will be drinking water. So, I decided to store some water purification tabs in this space.

Potable Aqua - two tiny tabs per quart of water.

These tabs are quite small, as the picture below demonstrates. The first step is to wrap them securely in plastic wrap in case the weapon is submerged. Quarter added for scale.

These tabs are quite small - and could save your life.

I wrapped up six tabs - enough for three quarts of clean water - and stashed them in the plug. A word of caution: this plug fits tight, and removing it can cause it to go shooting across the room. Best to point it at the floor during removal to avoid losing your stash!

Three quarts of pure water in a tiny plug...

The picture below shows the installed plug - or actually doesn't show the plug. It fits completely flush. Now that is some nifty "found" storage space!

Not safety checked!

Bugging Out?

BOB (Bug Out Bag) Essentials:


Weapons Bag:


What NOT to Wear: