Table of contents for June/July #37 2020 in RECOIL OFFGRID

There’s a bit of lore that runs through certain circles in the clandestine operations community. It originated during the Cold War, meant as guidance for allied agents operating in the heart of Soviet territory. It’s known as The Moscow Rules. While the rules were supposedly never written down at the time, there’s a version of them codified at the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. They go like this: 1. Assume nothing.2. Never go against your gut.3. Everyone is potentially under opposition control.4. Do not look back; you are never completely alone.5. Go with the flow; blend in.6. Vary your pattern and stay within your cover.7. Lull them into a sense of complacency.8. Do not harass the opposition.9. Pick the time and place for action.10. Keep your options open. Some…

The university is predictably quiet tonight, being a Friday night. One by one, students pack up as the time draws nearer for the library to close. Staff make the rounds at 10 to midnight, letting the remaining students know they’d be closing soon and to finish up what they’re doing. You shut off your laptop, pack up the books you had scattered about the table, and take a long sigh, wondering how difficult your upcoming midterms will be. Normally you wouldn’t be on campus quite this late, but you’re behind on your assignments and feel you have precious little time left to complete your work before you leave for spring break. You say goodnight to the staff member who kindly holds the door open for you as you walk out…

In the past few years, a “do-it-yourself shotgun” kit has become popular, billed as a “survival shotgun.” It’s made by Runway Sub-Cal, a manufacturer known for producing rifled flare gun inserts to allow shooters to fire pistol rounds through 26.5mm flare guns. Essentially, they provide a barrel, firing pin, and an outer barrel sleeve; the rest of the shotgun is built from steel pipe fittings. I was a bit hesitant going into this assignment, but read on and see why it’s important for a number of reasons. Building a Shotgun It’s legal for you to build your own firearms. Convicted felons or other prohibited persons, however, cannot. There may also be other applicable laws where you live, so double check the regulations in your jurisdiction. Several retailers carry this kit.…

Nonmetallic knives aren’t a new phenomenon. Man’s earliest weapons consisted of pointed staves and sharpened stone, which were quite effective for hunting, skinning, carving, and fighting. Today, nonmetallic edged weapons have benefitted greatly from durable and lightweight modern materials, making them more accessible and easier to carry and conceal. Human trafficking is a thriving criminal enterprise in the United States and abroad, making forceful abduction one of the many possible scenarios the modern prepper needs to be ready for. Escaping unlawful custody requires preplanning, training, and the ability to conceal a means of escape and defense. In many cases, discreet, nonmetallic tools may be the only thing one can get past an initial security sweep conducted by a criminal element during this type of incident. In the aftermath of events…

We’ve all been there — alone and unafraid, enjoying a weekend adventure or vacation in the backwoods and basking in the freedom American off-roading provides. Then BAM! You find yourself in a predicament. You misjudged the angle of the slope and didn’t see the ditch when you were backing up. That rock was a lot bigger than it looked, you have a flat tire, clearly through no fault of your own. These unfortunate realities could put a damper on your well-earned weekend, especially if you are miles away from help. We met up with Gary Presson from North 40 Rescue, the premier rope rescue and land navigation training company in the Northwest, to learn how to get ourselves out of these tricky situations with the simple physics of mechanical advantage.…

Pat Watson, founder and head trainer at Uncensored Tactical, recently observed on Twitter that “All the rifle courses in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t get through the locked obstacle that’s keeping you out of the gunfight.” This was an interesting bookend to the revelation I had about halfway through the first day of his Tactical Lock Picking class. We were popping the latch on a commercial office-type door when I realized I’d feel pretty silly if I tried to beat feet out of an area where a terrorist or active shooter was doing their thing — and found myself stopped short of freedom and safety by a simple locked door. It was an interesting training curriculum, which the name hardly does justice. It included lockpicking,…

In a day and age with such advanced technology at our fingertips, securing our most valuable assets, including our families, is critically important. If you don’t have some sort of home security system, now is definitely the time to consider changing that. Camera tech continues to become more affordable, and a decent surveillance or door-monitoring setup is far more attainable than it was just a few years ago. On top of that, there are many options that you can install by yourself with basic tools. Luckily for consumers, gone are the days of expensive monitoring solutions with monthly plans for a few cameras and an alarm (and the sign in the front yard!). These days, it’s a buyer’s market. The ease of DIY home security has driven the price of…

Working in an austere environment brings with it a unique set of challenges when it comes to packing and maintaining a sustainment backpack that allows one to be independent and successful. The bag I’ll be describing is a culmination of three separate trips to Syria with a relief group that focuses on casualty and humanitarian needs in conflict zones throughout the world. In order to support our team and our mission, I spent a good amount of time working out of my bag, and thus it was a very important addition to my gear selection. Because we were vehicle-mounted, we had the liberty of bringing more personal items in a larger duffel-sized bag as well. But I needed something that would sustain me throughout varying weather conditions, in the front…

Self-reliance is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the emergency preparedness community, but it’s also a term that seems to be frequently misconstrued. A self-reliant individual takes every feasible step to avoid unnecessary dependence on outside resources. This means that if a problem arises, we should have a plan to solve it on our own, and backup plans in case Plan A falls through. However, that doesn’t mean we should endanger ourselves by stubbornly refusing to call for help if a situation gets out of control. Let’s say you’re out hiking when the ground underfoot gives way and sends you tumbling down a ravine. You’re bruised and disoriented, and you think your leg might be broken. Would your first instinct be to crawl back to the trail,…

Threat detection is a lot like playing chess. You have to know what to look for before you can look for it. It’s a way of weaponizing your senses. When you apply those honed instincts to the dangers and deceptions that occur every day, it offers insight into the proverbial “tells” and how to make a move before your opponent knows you’re onto their strategy. There’s a feeling we all get when behaviors such as body language, nervousness, and verbal articulation make that little voice in your head whisper, “Something ain’t right.” Up until recently, Yousef Badou was a subject-matter expert only known and accessible to a select few groups. His forte is unique. While most of the population is oblivious to the onset of danger, Yousef knows what to…

We’ve all done it. We see the news about the latest rape, robbery, or mass shooting and say to ourselves, “Yeah, I could have stopped it.” It’s easy to fantasize about saving the day, about being the hero. But could you do it in real life? What does it actually take to put your life on the line to defend an innocent life or a whole group of them? Byron Rodgers knows what it takes — and he wants others to, as well. A combat vet and now a bodyguard to wealthy folks and individuals who need protection, Rodgers recently founded and hosted the inaugural Protector Symposium, a conference for security experts, law enforcement, and civilians interested in learning how to better protect themselves and those around them. “I’m very…

If there was ever a quintessential American knife design, it would have to be the Bowie knife. Its murky origins have a mysterious shroud, but once word of this knife got out, people had to have one. When westward expansion began and folks had to survive in the harsh realities of pioneer life it became, in a way, the first modern survival knife Origins The Bowie knife first rose to prominence because of a duel in which Jim Bowie was an observer. It took place on Wednesday, September 19, 1827, on a sandbar outside of Natchez, Mississippi. Although the two duelists in question fired their shots and settled the dispute with a handshake, the other 15 attendees engaged in a brawl known today as “The Sandbar Fight.” Bowie had a…