LAR Grizzly .45 mag.

For your viewing pleasure me shooting a friends LAR grizzly .45 mag. Damn thing had a hell of a kick and startled everyone at the range the first time it went off. enjoy.

THE BUG OUT VEHICLE (BOV) MODS AND MORE

                       

           

            One of the most critical and often overlooked parts of any preppers/survivalists bug out plan is the Bug Out Vehicle or B.O.V. The BOV is any vehicle that will be your primary means of transportation during a time of crisis. This vehicle can be anything from a daily driver to a monster truck made just for the zombie apocalypse. Most people will prefer a large 4x4 to a small car or van. But many cant afford to have a dedicated BOV and will have to make do with what they have, and that’s ok. As long as it gets your group and gear to where you are heading then it’s doing its job. For those of us that have a daily driver car and would like to have a dedicated BOV there are so many options out there. Everything from a nice new rig down to a $500 beater can be made into a BOV.

            Choosing a BOV really comes down to what you can afford and what your preferences are. 4x4s are great for off roading but will cost most than the same model truck in 4x2 (two wheel drive).  How much off roading are you planning on doing to reach you safe area? Will you be blazing a trail through the woods to reach a remote cabin you built? Or can you reach your destination via the highway or paved back roads? These are all questions to consider when looking for a BOV. Also you should plan on how many people and how much gear you will be carrying, no need to buy a two seater little truck when you have six family members and their gear to load up.

            Once you have a BOV that will work for you there are some modifications you may want to conceder. For this I’m going to assume most people will be heading for the hills off the beaten path when the shit hits the fan and will have some kind of truck or SUV. But all these mods will serve you well in the city.

           

First up is lighting. Sometimes the two little factory lights up front just wont do. To remedy this problem there are many after market lights and light bars to choose from. You don’t have to go out and buy the most expensive lights you can find. There are many low cost light systems available at Wal-Mart or online. One thing I have noticed is most lights no matter the cost or brand use the same bulbs, so you are really just spending extra money for the housing and a brand name and receiving the same amount of output.

            Extra lights are very easy to install, most will come with the hardware and have instructions that are easy to follow. Just pick out a place for them and mount up. You will have to run a few wires, one to the battery positive with a fuse, the other to ground. Don’t forget the switch on the positive wire to operate them. Again these are very simple. Just splice the switch inline with the positive wire, figure out where you want it and your done.

            Another fun thing to have is a winch. These come in all types and sizes. You will need to find one that is rated to pull the gross vehicle weight of your BOV. Now these can be rather expensive so remember there is no shame in buying used or shopping around. A few things to conceder when buying used it to thoroughly inspect the winch. If possible have the seller hook it up and run it for you to make sure all switches and motors are working correctly. Also take a look at the cable, some kinks and bends are ok, but beware of any frayed strands in the cable. If you find some don’t fret this can be repaired. If the broken strands are close to the beginning of the cable (the end with the hook) you can cut off that part and with some cheap hardware from a locale home improvement store reattach the hooking device. You will lose whatever length you cut off of course but there should be plenty of cable left. Now it the cable is completely messed up you can pick a new one up at your locale hardware store, which will be cheaper that ordering one from the manufacture, make sure to get the same size cable that came with the winch.

            Installing one of these bad boys is a little more complicated. If you are ordering a new one it should come with all the hardware and instructions to make installation less painless. If you get one that’s used with no hardware, I quick search online at the winches website or car and truck forums will be able to point you in the right direction for what you will need to purchase.

            Power inverters are something I think everyone should have on their BOV. These are relatively cheap and can be found at any locale electronic store. They come in many different configurations and sizes, from single outlet to multi outlet. Almost all inverters just plug into a cigarette lighter port. Id prefer a larger one with several outlets so be able to run all your handheld electronic devices, cooler, coffee pot, or whatever (you know the important stuff).

            Now that you have all your extra lights and winch installed I would recommend looking into a high output alternator and a good deep cycle battery. These can be pricey and depending on you vehicle can be a pain to install, but the payoff is worth it. All the lights, winches and beer coolers running on your BOV will put a strain on the starting and charging systems. Just think of it as insurance, you wouldn’t want to be stranded with a dead battery.

            Other areas of your BOV to look at modifying would be the tires and suspension. A set of good off road tires will go along way and save your butt where to pavement ends. With tires and other rubber products going up in price in recent years do your homework. Shop around town, call stores and look online for the best deals. Don’t over look used tire stores. They often have decent tires that someone traded in for something else (just check them for nails and dry rot before buying). Word to the wise, off road tires or mud tires will not last as long as regular tires if you plan on using your daily driver as a BOV. They wear very fast on the highway and depending on the tread type will made all sort of noise on pavement. With the expense and longevity (or lack there of) id recommend putting a good used or cheap set on a dedicated BOV and keep it off the high as much as possible (just my two cents).

            Suspension components are second to tires. I not going to tell you to go out and buy a 12in skyjacker kit with a 6in body lift, those are nice but too costly for my taste. A good set of stock size off road shocks will do fine in most cases. Just enough to help the vehicle perform well when the pavement runs out and you wont have to buy a bunch of other expensive parts to make them fit and work properly. Pricing depends on the brand and vehicle. I would have to say not to buy used shocks because its hard to tell if they are good or not when not installed on a vehicle unless you really know what you are looking for (I have a hard time telling so…. Yeah)

            As for the rest of the suspension, if its not broken leave it along. If you drive your BOV a lot and it feels sloppy in turns a good rubber bushing set will go along way. sway bar bushings, sway bar end links, upper and lower control arm bushings will really bring and old truck back to life (suspension wise). These don’t cost too much and some are easy to replace, but the control arm bushing are what will hurt your pocketbook. They are not easy to install, id recommend a professional mechanic replace them.

            One last thing. A good brush guard is not a most have but it wont hurt either (plus they look cool as hell). The benefits to one of these is pretty obvious, they will keep the front of your BOV safe from most of the things you may run into off the beaten path. Brush, tree limbs, deer, and zombies will all be push aside while saving your head lights and radiator from damage. They are often easy to find used for whatever vehicle you drive and are relatively easy to install.

            

Carry permit class

                                              

            So recently my wife and I finally signed up for a local conceal carry class. We have been talking about doing this for a year or two but I just couldn’t see spending the cash for the permit itself. The class was no problem at $65 a person, but add that to the bribe you have to pay the state ($115) and that’s what got me. I know that doesn’t sound like much but sometimes I just have problems dropping money on things I want when there are things I need.

            Well the stars aligned and the money was there so we took a class. I decided to go with a nice store in the next county over that had a sweet indoor range. Everywhere in town had outdoor ranges and damn it has been a hot summer. So for the same price why wouldn't I.

The class was such a joke. Don’t get me wrong the instructor and facility were excellent, but the material and test were so easy I don’t know why everyone doesn’t get a carry permit. There are people out in this world I hope wont but come on if you are a law-biding citizen and want to carry a gun without getting arrested why not.

            Other than the video made by the state troopers we had to watch everything else was just ask the instructor “what if” questions and him going over the test before he passed it out. I would have to agree with the instructor when he said the state really didn’t set the bar very high to get a permit.

            The written test was unbearably easy. Where should you store you gun? A. In your child’s toy chest. B. On the kitchen table. C. In a safe place. D. On the floor. Really? All 50 questions where like that.

            There were some strange people in our class that made my wife and I a little uncomfortable. We had the little Asian guy in the back row asking if he can carry on any school and college campus… no Mr. Virginia tech no. Then the two dudes that worked together that asking if they could take pictures of each other during the shoot part of the class. They wanted to blow up the pictures and use them to threaten their coworkers. Damn people take a hint please.

            The range portion of the class was the fun part of course. Shooting fifty rounds at 3, 9, and 15 yards. You only had to get 2/3 of the shots in the human silhouette to pass. So as long as you got all the rounds on target at the first two distances you could miss all of them at 45ft. Both of us got all of ours on target with my wife shooting the target man in the armpit but hey it still counted.

            Once the class was done it was off to the DMV. Two hours in line and a hefty fee was all we had to do there. Afterwards we had to call a number to register for finger printing. We were able to get an appointment the same day and zipped on over. And that was it, all over but the waiting. Everyone said 4 weeks was the minimum wait time with it taking up to 3 months, so I was shocked as hell when two weeks later the damn thing showed up at my door. My wife was pissed hers didn’t come but was happy when it showed up the next day.

 Now if they are anything like a drivers license, the day and month on the expiration date is also the day it was printed. So if I go off that it only took a week to be approved and another week for them to mail it to me (Damn pencil pushing bureaucrats). My best guess why it only took two weeks is because I had a very extensive background check to work where I’m at now so maybe that helped push it through, I don’t know but hey I’m not complaining.