The Mobile Plan: Is That Hardware In Your Toolbox?

It seems like we aren't ever home. That's because, we aren't..... my family is in "those years"......, meaning that time when the kids are between the ages of 10 and 16, when we as parents are constantly on the go. Besides both my wife and I working in different towns from where our home is located. We also take our kids to their swim practice in another town as well for 4 evenings a week as well as Saturday morning. That doesn't take in account the in-season before school practices 5 mornings a-week or any meets on weekdays or weekends. Suffice to say that we're spending a lot of time traveling around in our vehicles. All this means that we have to be prepared to deal with any eventualities when we're out.

As an aspiring "Prepper", my single greatest fear is something like this happening when we're away from home. And it appears that the potential for social unrest is becoming increasingly possible, if not probable! Politics and beliefs not withstanding, I have no intention of being caught in something like this. But I live outside Dallas. Sure, that's better, than say Philly, Detroit, or LA, but it ain't Colorado Springs or Bartlesville, OK either. So, just in case; I need to have a plan. 

My first order of business is to get my License to Carry (LTC here in Texas). As soon as I get a free weekend, I'm going to take the class so I can carry a sidearm with me. My intention isn't necessarily to always carry a sidearm. After all, I'm a school teacher and we can't have them on campus. But I want to make darn sure that I can at least legally have one in the vehicle with me that's fully loaded and ready to go. 

 

The second and main part of my plan is to have one of these in my vehicle at all times. It's a Rigid brand tool box that's been customized to hold one or more firearms along with ammunition. These things are rugged, stealth and don't take up a lot of space. The smaller sized one can have 2 layers of foam and therefore should be able to hold not only a handgun, but my Kel-tec Sub 2000 as well. 

The concept isn't to have enough firepower to fight it out. That's a stupid idea! There's always going to be somebody that you can't out-gun. Then what? The idea is to have enough fire-power to either get yourself free from the situation and get home, or at least encourage the bad people to leave you alone and move along.

Let's All GROW UP and Look At The Real Issue

Recently, one of my family members wrote something on Facebook in support of an assault weapons ban which points out that the founding fathers never conceptualized something such as the AR/AK of today when they penned the 2nd amendment. And you know what...... they didn't.

Because they were thinking of something along these lines.... What's my point? In 1787, the Kentucky long-rifle was the most advanced weapon of it's day! So yeah, he made an accurate, yet historically misapplied argument. So, what then is the issue? What they didn't envision was the 20th/21st century breakdown of the American family and the detrimental affect it would have on the development of our youth. 

Last week, I taught a unit on the era of the late industrial age and nationalism. And staring me right in the face was the answer to our national crisis. One of the generally accepted societal effects of the time was the lengthening of "childhood" and the delaying of "adulthood". You might as well just go ahead and say it, at a time in which our children are less mature, we are placing them increasingly in situations where they can, and do make more adult decisions. 

It's almost a mantra in today's society that if a person is old enough to die for their country, they are old enough to ___________; you fill in the blank. I for one say that, that is a load of crap! And after 20+ years in education, I know a thing or two about teens, because I've seen a thing or two, or four! Ask pretty much any grown adult and you'll find the same answer. Teenagers are getting LESS responsible and mature, NOT more! 

The reality of the industrial revolution is that increasingly, kids stayed in school (and home) till they were at least 18. In fact, it's been mandated. Prior to this era, "kids" went to work by the time they  were 14-15 years old, or got married and had children by 18. You can ask any parent; no single event changes a person more than having kids! My belief is that the only reason American society hasn't experienced the detrimental effects of this issue earlier was World War II.Not only was it a time far less removed from the previous era of forced maturity. It forced an entire generation of boys/young men to go into the military, then suffer the travails of a war! 

Ask any sociologist when American society took a marked turn toward increasing teen destruction,... go ahead. Yeah, pretty much any will tell you that it's the post WWII era. ....and it's gotten progressively worse, with today's coddling helicopter-parent creating the low-water group of today. OK.... I'm I going to just bitch or do I have an idea?

Yup, I sure do! If 21 is the drinking age, then, lets make it the age for EVERY judgement critical thing in society. Why do you think they had to up the drinking age 21? Because 18 year old's are great decision makers right? OK, but what about the military you say? I say that 18 is fine because, in the military, virtually everything dangerous is meticulously training into you AND supervised by 1 or more of the toughest and most experienced veterans put in charge of anyone anywhere....., the Drill Instructor or Sergeant..... and they are overseen by even tougher and more experienced Chiefs, Master Sergeants etc. And while I'm at it, I'd push the voting age back up to 21 as well! And one more thing; let's go ahead and enforce the laws we have why don't we!?!

That's it..... that's all I got today.

The Modern Miniteman

As I approach my "gun goal", it's time to evaluate my situation. The intention of being a gun owner was and is not for it to be a hobby or a collection. That's a separate concept, and I'll get to that later. My purpose is the old 2nd Amendment goal of exercising my right to be armed and defend myself and my family if the need arises. I've extended that to include what might be necessary in the event of a temporary breakdown of societal norms (aka SHTF, WROL, etc). To that end, I've decided that I'd like to have the following weapons:

• Service Pistol: A pistol designed to handle defensive situations over possibly an extended period of time and therefore uses a "standard" caliber round and of sufficient power to stop an adult human. I have a Walther P99 with 9 magazines.
• Pistol Caliber Carbine: A carbine length weapon designed to use the same caliber ammunition as my primary pistol which would be easy to use by someone not as familiar with firearm use. I have a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 (Gen 2) chambered in 9mm and takes the Beretta magazines (7 mags). Beretta and Walther magazines can be interchanged with minimal modifications. 
•  Survival Gun: A general use, adaptable weapon that can be used in a variety of situations. I have a Fedarm SS-12, 12 Gauge single-shot with a chamber adapter for 9mm. I'll also be getting chamber adapters for 22LR and some other calibers as well. This gun has a synthetic stock, a paracord sling and folds down to roughly 18 inches.
• Battle Rifle: A full-sized main "battle weapon" designed to either offensively attack an enemy or fight off one or more concerted attacker(s) chambered in a standard caliber. I have an AR-15 clone in .223/5.56 NATO along with 14 magazines. 

It's in my plan to also get the following as time and finances allow:

• Home Defense Shotgun: In all probability, this will be a Mossberg 500, or Remington 870 pump shotgun in 12 Gauge. 
• Concealed Carry Handgun: 9mm "single-stack" handgun for ammunition commonality and adequate knockdown power. In all probability, this will be the M1 version of the Walther PPS.
• Small Caliber Small-game and Practice Handgun: 22LR, Walther P22. Similar handling characteristics to the P99.

That puts the count at 7, and that my seem like a lot of guns, but it's really not. Each has it's own specific job and none of them overlap. There's not really even a "back up" to each other. 

As you can see, the majority of the guns I own or aspire to own are "Minuteman" type guns. What does that mean? I own guns because I believe in being responsible for protecting myself, my family and being a sheep dog to my neighbors. And if it came down to it, I'd do what I'd be called on by my country if things went seriously out of whack. 

Note that all of my guns, whether owned or projected to purchase are chambered for "standard" calibers; that being 22LR, 9mm Para, 223/5.56 NATO, and 12 Gauge. These are rounds that are easy to get, cheap (relatively) to buy, and more easy to scavenge in case of a breakdown. These are serious considerations since, guns become fancy paperweights without ammunition! 

In addition, it's my intention that I have the capability to reload virtually all the calibers listed above...... with obvious exception of the 22LR of course since it's "Rimfire". Right now, I'm set up to do 9mm and 5.56, so I'm most of the way there. I just need 12 gauge. So, is there anything else that I need/want for completion?

•  An Smith & Wesson SW99. A backup/ Truck Gun with in everything but name (and price) is a Walther P99, in 9mm of course. These can often be bought for less than $250.
  
  
•  A 300 "Blackout" AR. There's a number of ways I could go on this. The main idea of a 300Blk being something with better knockdown power inside of 200 yards than the 5.56. I could go with a pistol length weapon or carbine length. Mostly, it would be a "hog gun". Technically, I already own it since I bought another Aero Precision lower receiver.
  
    

•  A Breakdown/Take-down 22LR for obvious reasons. The Henry AR-7 shown at the top would be over $100 cheaper than the Ruger AND espeically if the Ruger 10/22 is equipped with the Magpul X-22 stock.I guess, we'll see on that. 

 So, I guess, that's it. I'm halfway to an overall goal of 10 guns total, with three which that could be considered optional. They would give me that ability to do just about anything I needed to do. I seriously doubt that I would get into collecting. Not that I'm uninterested, it's just that they are simply too expensive! 

Sure, we own a Winchester 1873 in 38-40, but it's a family heirloom and will probably never be shot. Otherwise, these things just get into too much money and something a teacher-father of two just can't afford to get into. So, I'd have to say that I'm pretty satisfied in the progress to my goals as a Modern Minuteman.