Ammunition supplies at stores are finally starting to normalize. That's good news, but prices are still inflated.
So what have we learned from the recent shortage?
Conventional knowledge pretty much went out the window as soon as supply started to dry up and shelves went bare. Most of the guys I know had argued in favor of only keeping firearms chambered for NATO calibers. It seems that the 9 mm, 45 ACP, 5.56/2.23, 7.62 x 51/.308, and 12 gauge were the first things to disappear. (This was not my personal philosophy, and I was glad to see .40 S&W, 7.62x54R, and 7.62x39 price and availability fluctuate very little in comparison.) The biggest surprise probably came when the .22 LR vanished from shelves. How many articles were written or conversations had that the .22 would be in limitless supply because it is the most common target, plinking, and recreational round available? Conventional wisdom told us there was no possible way we would ever have a shortage of .22. Boy oh boy, were we wrong! I'm not even going get into prices on some of the other rounds but we saw a $17 box of .22 long rifle go all the way up to $120 in the course of three short months, thanks in no small part to shady dealers like Cheaper Than Dirt and unscrupulous "ammo scalpers" who looked to make a quick buck. (CTD will never see another penny of my money!)
We can get into several theories as to why supply and demand shifted the way it did or why the supply dried up so fast but the bottom line is if you hadn't stocked up on ammo prior to this rush you're feeling the shortage more than anybody else. I'm curious to hear from any new marksman out there who recently started purchasing firearms and ammunition how they've budgeted for not only the price of the firearm but also the over inflated price of the ammunition. Unfortunately, I suspect most new folks coming into the firearms culture have no idea they're being overcharged.
The short lesson is this: The Mosin and SKS continued to eat well, but the AR and Ruger 10/22 ate very lean. Be careful with "Caliber Consolidation", because you might be surprised with what disappears when times get tight. And if you haven't started backing up your ammo supply, maybe you need to rethink some purchases.

Black Bag Resources, LLC is proud to offer AR500 Armor products to our customers. AR500 Armor produces level III steel trauma plates capable of stopping rifle rounds up to 7.62x51/.308 caliber. Unlike ceramic plates, steel plates aren't easily damaged by day to day use and abuse. The best part is AR500 Armor plates are affordable! Ceramic plates start at about $300 each, but you can get a basic AR500 10"x12" Advanced Shooters Cut Plate for as little as $65 (at the time of this writing). AR500 Armor offers plenty of features and options to suit your specific needs, including various sizes and flat or curved plates. Because steel plate armor deflects and breaks incoming rounds and doesn't "catch" the bullet like soft armor or ceramics do, AR500 Armor offers a Line-X base coat build-up to contain spall/fragmentation. This additional coating is offered for an extra fee but is very effective at capturing 100% of spall/frag. Black Bag Resources, LLC strongly recommends this option when ordering your armor. Call Black Bag Resources, LLC  to place your order!

The new 2013 Black Bag Resources Bandanas have arrived!
ORDER HERE
The latest batch are 27" x 27" of 100% pure cotton with the logo printed on one corner.
So what's the big deal? Cotton bandanas are a handy everyday carry and survival item. There's a reason the Boy Scouts include a neckerchief as part of their uniform.
The BBR Bandana can be used as/for:

• Head wrap (generous size fits even BIG heads)
  
• Cold or warm compress
• Sling (for an injured limb or as a rifle sling)
  
• Tourniquet
• Dust mask
• Blind fold
• Hair tie
• Dip net for fishing
• Bandage
• Signal flag (bright colors, obviously!)
• Camouflage (subdued colors, obviously!)
  
• Char cloth (100% cotton)
  
• Wash cloth
• Bindle (click for the link to Wikipedia)
  

The list goes on and on and is only limited by your imagination and skills. You can tie them and twist them, or even sew pockets in them to suit your needs. I carry one everyday, and I'm constantly finding new uses for it.
Some uses are mundane. Some are adventurous. Some are only for the BOLD! >>>

ORDER HERE

This is Hurricane preparedness week (May 26-June1) on the East Coast. If you're here in NJ, you're probably still hearing about the repairs from Sandy, or you're down the shore still IN the recovery. June is considered Hurricane Season here, so let's go over and review some of your basic hurricane preps:
Following the Black Bag Resources method, we start with our threat assessment by defining the threat and it's related problems. What is a hurricane? A hurricane is a tropical storm with a low pressure center and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Some of the problems a hurricane may cause (and we will have to solve) include wind damage, water damage, power loss, and interruptions in the supply chain. Let's break down and solve each problem:
Wind Damage
The Problems: Hurricanes bring high wind speed that can cause damage by knocking down trees, lifting roofing, and blowing loose items.
The Solution: Now is a good time to do some outdoors maintenance. Trim dead tree limbs, clean up the yard, check the roofing for any obvious issues, make sure storm doors and shutters are solid and secure, etc. If you are in an area where this is an extreme risk and you need to board up, now is the time to measure and cut boards so they will be ready for the storm. I recommend numbering them so you know which boards go to which windows to save time in the event you do have to board up. Now is a good time to stock up on duct tape for taping windows. (Taping windows is another way to keep broken glass from going everywhere should a window get broken.) Right before the storm, bring patio furniture and garbage cans inside to prevent them from becoming projectiles and causing damage. Generally speaking, if you can lift it, a storm can throw it. Also check rain gutters and awnings to make sure they are secured firmly. If you have solar panels, check the mounts, racks, and fittings and replace or repair them as needed.
Water Damage
The Problems: Hurricanes bring heavy rains which can cause top down water damage as well as bottom up water damage from flooding.
The Solutions: Address top down water damage by checking for leaks. Look for missing or damaged roofing, check the attic and ceilings for watermarks, check windows and weather stripping, and clean out rain gutters to ensure they move water as they should. Address minor bottom up water issues and flooding by checking sump pumps and french drains, and water proofing basements. If you know your home is prone to minor flooding issues (for example: 2-3" of water in the basement), move items out of low areas in your home to keep them from getting water logged or damaged. In areas prone to severe flooding like Manville and Bound Brook, review your evacuation plans. Plan primary and secondary evacuation routes and destinations. If you plan to go to a friend or family member's home, review and discuss the arrangements with them now, not when you are on the way there. Check your Bug Out Bags/Evacuation Kits/Get Home Kits and replace anything that's been consumed or used up. Flood waters can also move contaminents into the water supply. That means drinking water will need to be decontaminated, or replaced with clean, stored water. I recommend having both means to purify water AND storing water for drinking and brushing your teeth.
Power Loss
The Problems: Electrical power outages caused by hurricanes may be minor and temporary, or, as we saw with Sandy, may be severe and last for extended periods. Lack of power will cause many electronic devices to stop working.
The Solutions: Start by preparing for the short term. Make sure you have flash lights and candles staged where you might need or use them, including fresh and spare batteries for the lights and lighters or matches to light the candles. It's no fun hunting for things in the dark. Use caution with any open flame, and keep fire extinguishers handy as well. Now is a good time to tidy up inside your home, too. Is there anything that might become a trip and fall hazard if the lights suddenly went out? Keep in mind how many things use electricity both inside and outside your home. If the power is out, ATM machines, gas pumps, and credit card machines will not work. Street and traffic lights might be out. Have some cash and fuel (if possible) on hand. At minimum, fill your vehicle's gas tank prior to the storm. In addition to your vehicle's radio, have battery operated emergency radios on hand to stay informed. Prior to the storm, charge cell phones fully, but be prepared that they might not work if the cell towers go down. Once you have the basics covered, consider preparing for longer term outages with either a generator or battery bank to power larger appliances, sump and well pumps, and any necessary medical equipment in your home.
Interruptions in the Supply Chain
The Problems: Most retail locations, including grocery stores, only maintain about a three day supply of goods which is restocked by regular deliveries. In the event of a severe hurricane, that resupply might not come as scheduled. It could be days or even weeks late depending on various issues.
The Solutions: Stock up. Start by taking inventory of every consumable item in your home. Your first goal is to maintain a three day supply that would allow you to have everything you need with out going to the store. This should include food, water, medications, toiletries and hygene items, cleaning supplies, first aid items, fuel if possible, batteries, etc. Once you have a three day supply, extend to a week, then a month. Try to keep your food supply as close to your normal diet as possible by rotating what you store and including it in regular meals. I don't advocate storing lots of freeze dried or dehydrated foods if you aren't used to eating those things, but there are a few exceptions. (I like to keep dehydrated milk, for example, because milk, eggs, and bread all disappear from shelves pretty quickly. Milk does not have a long shelf life, so this provides a good back up.) Your specific dietary and medical needs should also be taken into consideration, and addressed accordingly. Be sure to include backup means of preparing your food in your plans. Small camp stoves are an option, but be sure to have adequate ventilation when using propane.

Your plans and preparedness items should give you an improved feeling of security. If you notice that you are feeling stressed in your efforts because you can't meet all your needs, consider working with friends and neighbors to bridge gaps in your respective plans and maximize effectiveness. Keep in mind that you are part of a community and that should not change in the event of a disaster. Conversely, if you feel that you are set up well but your neighbors are not, encourage them to take steps to be ready. Finally, sheltering in place is always my first choice, but when the time comes to evacuate- do it without hesitation. Be ready with your evacuation kit/Bug Out Bag and know your evacuation route and destination, as well as secondary routes and destinations. 

This is in no way comprehensive of everything you should do to prepare for hurricanes. There is always more, but if you get started on the things we've discussed in this article, you will start to notice other action items and steps you can take to improve your specific situation. Feel free to comment here or on Facebook, or send emails with comments and questions to [email protected].

Jill asked a good question on the Black Bag Resources facebook page regarding the recent tornado in Oklahoma:
I have a serious question. We have a safe with all our identification, etc.. bug out bags.. prepped.. what happens when the tornado rips the safe and bags away? What else can we do to prep for those scenarios?? I know there are keyfob tjings to store your id documents on but what good does it do if it's gone too??
We often discuss the difference between "shelter in place" vs "bug out" scenarios. I always advocate sheltering in place if possible, and evacuating only as a last resort. That probably comes as no surprise, but let's address Jill's question- what do you do when your shelter has been destroyed and your supplies, bug out bags, and entire "parachute" is gone? 
The answer is: Plan C. Plan C (or Plan B2 depending on how you look at it) is a type of evacuation plan. Plan B would be a properly supplied evacuation to  predetermined retreat location. That is a key element to your evacuation plan, and one that still applies if everything is lost to a tornado. Let's assume you have already worked out your Plan A to shelter in place and have all your bases covered. Your Plan B to evacuate is also complete. Time to start working on Plan C- stocking your retreat location. Your retreat location is simply your fall back point, a safe place, most likely the home of a friend or family member. You will need to stock redundant stores there as a back up to your stores at home, and the scaled down supplies you've packed in your Bug Out Bag, maybe just a complete second BOB. If that poses too much of a financial burden, maybe you can work out an agreement with your teammates. You have a store of supplies at your house, they have a supply at theirs, so you simply agree to look out for eachother. This violates the "ticket" principle, but it is a realistic alternative.
Keep in mind that you are never really at zero. In theory, you should still have your Every Day Carry items, and possibly your Get Home Bag in your vehicle. Salvage what you can, and stage your gear if possible. You know if you live in an area where tornadoes are common because you've done a thorough threat assessment when examining your preps, so stage that BOB with you when you take shelter from the storm. Most importantly, you have your brain. Keep your wits about you. Understand that you can overcome. Maintain your positive mental attitude. You may have to improvise, and that is never easy nor comfortable, but you can do it.


Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the recent tornado in Moore, OK.

We all know him. Maybe he's a friend, or your brother in law, or that guy at the range. Maybe he's the "expert" on youtube. He's the Gearhead. It seems like he's always got the latest and greatest gear and he can't wait to roll you in his opinion like a sugar cookie. He'll tell you every minute detail of the latest gizmo's design and manufacturing process. He'll tell you that because he trains with *insert high speed / low drag badass group here*, he just had to have this thing to keep up. Sometimes he'll look at whatever it is you're using and explain why it sucks, how your performance suffers because of it, and what he's got to solve your "problem."
Don't fall for it.
Chances are, the Gearhead is compensating for some other pitfall by drowning himself in new purchases. You do not have to buy into every craze that comes along. It goes for equipment, it goes for training, and it goes for techniques. Think your way through. Ask questions. Learn.
For example: On my AR, I use a pistol grip with interchangeable palm and finger swells because I have big hands and it prevents me from over indexing the trigger.
I purchased a particular piece of equipment to address two issues I have. That does not mean you should immediately go out and spend $40 on a Magpul MIAD grip. Yes, the MIAD is a good piece of kit. But if you don't need it, wouldn't that money be better spent on ammo or a training class? Don't fall into the financial pitfall of keeping up with the Gearhead.
I'm also not big on buying the first of anything that comes out. Often, manufacturers are in a hurry to release that new product, and sometimes they still have some issues to work out. How many times have you seen the phrase, "Gen2 model with the following improvements" in an advertisement or review? Let the Gearhead work out the bugs for you, and then spend the smart money on the upgraded version- or snatch up the used first model cheap!
Y'know. Unless you're independently wealthy, a lotto winner, or just have to be "that guy"...

Please read the following article in a full-blown screaming rage voice...
I am so sick and tired of this argument, I can't even explain. It hurts my head every time I see another Youtube video, blog post, or Facebook discussion dedicated to "finally ending the debate" as to which of these two firearms is better.
STOP IT!
Here's the bottom line: There is a reason BOTH of these rifles still exist! There is a reason both of these guns are sold by the millions worldwide!
Stop arguing the "combat effectiveness" of either of these rifles! Any AK sold in the US has been modified to be 922R compliant- it is no longer genuine surplus! Stop arguing that the AR has "been proven" by the US Military- they don't use semi-autos! (I see you in the back- you go ahead and tell me the Air Force does. Then go choke yourself!)
Here is the only single true fact in this entire debate- Whether you choose an AR or whether you choose an AK, YOU ARE DOING IT BASED SOLELY ON YOUR OPINION!!!
And you know what? That's OK. It's ok to have an opinion based on nothing more than your preference. So do us all a favor and just admit that you like one better and that's why you chose it. Because, so help me, the next time I see this debate I am posting a link to this article!

So you're looking at making a purchase and someone tells you to make sure the product is "Milspec" or meets Military Specification. He explains that only the best equipment meets this prestigious standard and that's why the government chose it for the troops. 
I disagree. Steady your nerves, I'm about to bash on military equipment.
Here are my 6 harsh criticisms of Milspec gear:
1. This is what Uncle Sam decided could be mass produced at minimal cost by the lowest bidder.
2. Standard issue Milspec gear is about as good as government cheese- you can live with it, but do you really want to?
3. Issue gear is given to the troops the Generals consider expendable. They aren't taking top quality, expensive stuff to the grave. (This is a criticism of the equipment and the system, NOT our brave men and women in uniform!)
4. Milspec is the lowest standard of equipment the government will use. If it was any worse, they couldn't give it away.
5. Top tier operators get better equipment. Milspec doesn't cut it for them. Why should it cut it for you?
6. Milspec gear is designed to function for the lowest common denominator. You are smarter than that.
If you haven't already freaked out at my blasphemy, let me assure you that there is a place for Milspec kit. If all you can afford right now is surplus gear, it can be an excellent choice. Because of it's abundance, Milspec surplus gear can be had cheap-cheap. Much of it is robust and overbuilt to tolerate abuse in hostile environments.
I know. You're still mad at me and demanding an explanation. Ok.
Consider the M16:
The rifle was originally issued with a 3 prong flash hider. It worked fine, but knuckle heads insisted on using it to break chain link fence. They then insisted there was something wrong with the flash hider that kept breaking. Milspec standards changed the flash hider to the "bird cage" we are all familiar with. It was probably the same gang of thugs that used the thin barrel to snap crate straps. Soon reports came back of bent barrels and they had to be thickened to new Milspec standards. That adds considerable weight! Fast forward to today. You'll never guess what the latest manufacturing trend is- light weight "pencil" barrels! Do I even need to rehash the change in powders during Viet Nam?
Consider the 1911:
John Browning designed the pistol with a grip safety. US MIlspec standards required a thumb safety and it was added to an already perfect design. Do any of you shoot a Glock? You do? Enough said there.
I've even heard "rumors" that when the USMC needed sleeping bags they chose light weight civilian models over the available military model. The other branches eventually caught up and the current modular system was developed.
Ok. One more example. I give you the ACU camoflage pattern... Yeah...
Here is what I want you to take away from this:
Milspec gear is NOT always the best. You have a choice when you lay down your hard earned money. Keep in mind, the Military buys from civilian manufacturers. Those same civilian manufacturers are the ones leading product research and then competing for contracts. Uncle Sam tests that gear and sometimes makes changes, but they aren't always changes for the better. Conversely, I'm not saying you have to get all your gear from Gucci.
Make sure you choose the equipment that performs best and best suits your specific need. Consider "MilSpec" just another brand label.

We will not attend the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show this year (Feb. 2-10 2013) due to their new policy banning "AR type rifles and high capacity magazines." We look forward to this show every year as an opportunity to meet with manufacturer's representatives and view new products coming to market. We will strive to find other avenues to find new products and will spend the time and money allocated for the show elsewhere.
Let me be clear. Those items are not the sole attraction for me at the show, but I do not support the decisions made my the hosts. As such, I cannot in good faith support their business in any way.
The decision on the part of the hosts is disappointing, but we have seen this before. For those of you old enough to remember the passing of the 1994 "Assault Weapons Ban," you may recall companies like Colt and Smith & Wesson caving to political pressure. The result was certain manufacturers stopped manufacturing certain products or started producing modified products with the effort and intention to set themselves apart from the issues.
In doing so, they are trying to draw attention away from themselves, point the finger at someone else and say, "It isn't us, it's them." This is unacceptable. It does nothing to support your rights as free men and women of the United States, and only serves to fracture our community. This is a time to pull together.
I sincerely hope the folks at the  Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show reverse this decision. If they do, and only if they do, will they see any of my business again.

I get a lot of questions relating to not only firearms but our rights to own those firearms. Invariably, I get asked about the National Rifle Association, my opinion, and why or how to join. Here's the bottom line: If you aren't a member, you don't really have a horse in the race when it comes to protecting your Second Amendment rights. The NRA is the longest standing civil rights organization in the US as well as the standard when it comes to firearms safety and training. It's that simple. For those of you still on the fence or thinking "I don't really like some of what the NRA has to say," I still urge you to join, because you cannot influence the NRA from the outside. Become a member, and make your voice heard. Join the fight! To make joining the NRA as easy as possible, follow the link below (or on the home page) and you will receive a $10 discount on your 1 Year Membership. As always, be sure to tell them Black Bag Resources sent you. They'll know you're one of the good guys!