SABBATH SAFETY...

Active Shooter in Church

TRAIN, PLAN, PRACTICE!

Sabbath Safety

by Cope Reynolds

OK, the time has come to discuss a very serious and grossly misunderstood subject. Active shooters or maybe more correctly, active assailants. What if an attacker uses a knife or machete or a chainsaw or a baseball bat? The general response by the ”attackees" and the results of the attack will be much the same regardless of how it is perpetrated. However, for the purposes of today's discussion, we are going to specifically address an active shooter situation.

To earn the title, active shooter or active assailant, one typically has to conduct their evil deeds in a place where there are lots of people, generally unarmed people like a school, or a mall... or a church. Yes, sadly, society has degraded to a point where we are not even safe in our places of worship. Every major religion, and many of the lesser-knowns, has been attacked right here in America. Catholic, Protestant and Jew as the saying goes. Baptist, Church of Christ, Mormon. None are exempt. The only real difference is how the church and/or the congregation responds. Some have policies against guns, some have security staff on the payroll and others just pretend it will never happen to them. After all, if we live righteously, isn't God supposed to protect us? Cannot the same be said for the locks on our doors, fire extinguishers, motorcycle helmets and, to some degree, life insurance?

God will do what God will do. Bad guys have the ability to make their choices, good or bad, just like the rest of us. If God were to protect us each and every time they (or we) made a bad decision, our reason to be on this earth to begin with would be negated. Our free agency, and theirs, would no longer have meaning. So what do we do? Stay home? Pray a little harder? Post guards at the doors? What about carrying a gun? Yeah, many of us will be armed and take responsibility for our own safety and that of our loved ones, regardless of laws and church policies. The old adage is, it is better to be tried by 12 than carried by six!

As mentioned above, some Churches have armed security on staff. Not a bad idea. Maybe not ideal but multiple well-trained, highly visible individuals could certainly be a deterrent. Some Churches have adopted the "run, hide, fight" philosophy that the Department of Homeland Security introduced a few years ago. Let's talk about that one for a minute...

Speaking strictly for myself, I think "run, hide, fight" is grossly flawed. I see this doing nothing but instilling panic and creating a "fish-in-a-barrel" effect for the shooter. A large congregation cannot all fit through one or two doors before the shooter has time to inflict many, many casualties. Add that to the fact that all the chaos and people running every which direction would make it very difficult for anyone to address the shooter whether they physically, bodily attack him or respond with weapons of some type. Even if you made it out the door, down the hall and outside, are you sure that there are not more shooters outside prepared for just such a response?

Hide? Really? Where in the world are you going to hide from one or more determined attackers in a building with almost bare rooms save a few folding chairs and a table? Do the doors even lock in the rooms that are available? Yes, if you're lucky, you might delay them finding you until the police or others arrive. You may also just create another "fish-in-a-barrel" shooting gallery.

Fight? OK, now we're getting somewhere! Let's talk about that for a bit and look at some different scenarios. I've been to a few other churches other than my own as a guest and it seems like one thing is fairly consistent... and predictable. Most of them have some sort of an opening exercise in a larger, more open area and then split up into groups and retire to their respective classrooms. Let's take them in order. If you were a shooter bent on achieving a respectable body count, wouldn't that large room be a logical place to start? The congregation would generally do well to sit away from the outer edges of the seating arrangement, whether it be wooden pews or folding chairs. Select personnel, whether they be former or current law enforcement, veterans or just men or women determined not to allow a catastrophe to happen while they are present, should sit in strategic positions where they can best respond if necessary.

If the worst case scenario were to happen, GET DOWN! Right where you are, GET DOWN! This puts some visual interruption between you and the shooter and throws a monkey wrench in his plans. He or she was counting on you all jumping up and piling up against the door like they did in the theater in Aurora, Colorado a few years ago. Don't make it any easier for him than you have to! Will getting on the floor guarantee that you won't be shot? Not necessarily but it will most assuredly cut down on the number of casualties that are created. Men, shield the women and children as much as possible. STAY DOWN until you have some indication that it is safe to get up. Don't try to be a hero. If you are not trained and armed, stay out of the way of those who are and let them address the situation without having to worry about innocent people gumming up the works. If there is no one in the congregation that is either armed, trained or both, you must take it upon yourselves to either subdue the shooter or make life so miserable for him that he runs away.

What can you do that? How effectively do you think he can shoot through a hail of hymn books, shoes, briefcases, scriptures, baby bottles and cell phones? As you throw, advance towards the threat. Keep throwing and keep advancing. Some of you may get shot but I promise many more will not. You have made your choice to stand and fight because he made his choice to attack God's people. I think it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that God may lend a hand at this point. Maybe the fact that you are brave enough to fight IS God's response.

OK, what happens if you're in the hallways or classrooms when the shooting starts? Get in the nearest room and lock or barricade the door as best you can. Take stock of your resources. Weapons? Chairs, music stands, pencils, briefcases, fingernails, water bottles, staplers, etc. Be prepared to relentlessly introduce the assailant to all of the above if he manages to breech your doorway. While it may be inadvisable to bring a stapler to a gunfight, it is many times better than doing nothing at all. History has proven this over and over!

SURRENDERING OR COMPLYING WILL NOT SAVE YOU!! It is most unlikely that he came there to take hostages. The statistics are abundantly ​clear. In 100% of situations where one of more individuals with weapons have tried to kill or control a group of people, people that fight have a much better chance of surviving than those that cower in the corner and await their fate. An excellent example is the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. Read up on it.

Church shootings are not new. They have been happening in America periodically since the late 1700's. There has been more than 246 shooting events at churches since the year 2000, 94% of which happened at Christian churches. These have resulted in 307 deaths and many more injuries. These statistics do not take into account the literally thousands of documented, non-shooting, violent events.

I have one last thought to share, and it will be unpopular. If you are gentle, thin-skinned and brimming with love for your fellow man, God bless you, but it might be best if you stop here...

I hate to say it, but profiling works. Law enforcement has used it for generations with a great deal of success. Somewhat quietly maybe, but they've done it. I won't go into specifics here, but there is a growing segment of people in this country who sometimes like to leave their mark in life by generously spreading their DNA over a rather large area that usually contains a number of innocent, unsuspecting people. There's not really a real gentle way to approach this so let me just ask this question... Have you considered the possibility of your intruder carrying a bomb? If so, what are your plans? While it is decidedly unlikely, I think it is becoming more and more likely as time wears on.

Most of us who have participated in self-defense training of some type have been taught to shoot at CoM, or center of mass of a humanoid target. CoM is the largest and easiest target to hit and contains many of the most important organs that keep us among the living. The problem is, that area is also where explosives are typically worn, so this presents a very serious problem for us. If we instinctively shoot for CoM and our unwelcome guest happens to be sporting a particular type of vest, it could be the last shot we ever make. Likewise, if we hesitate and are too slow to evaluate the situation and make that perfect cranio-ocular cavity (read 'head') shot, the results will be the same. In my classes, I am spending quite a bit more time instilling the importance of head shots. Think about this and practice accordingly!

With all of the above in mind, make sure there are 1st aid supplies (particularly tourniquets, compressed gauze, compression bandages, a hemostatic agent and gloves, AT A MINIMUM) and the training to use these items kept on-hand and readily accessible.

We are entering dark times. Pretending it's never going to happen to you or yours will not make it go away!

I have a few more thoughts on this that I will share in another segment of Southwest Freedom.

Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends...
Glocks are what you show your enemies!

#SouthwestShootingAuthority 
#SWSAblog.com
#Desertscout1  

2026 Godzilla El Niño...

For the last few days, I've been researching our weather and trying to figure out what we have to look forward to. This morning, I discovered a key term that led me to a number of very disturbing stories and videos. 

That term is "Godzilla" El Niño. Look it up for yourself. Experts say this could exceed the El Niño of 1877-78 that ultimately led to the deaths of over 50 million people. At the time, that was 3-4% of the world's population. Again, look it up for yourself. 

I urge you not to take this lightly. This weather system is 9,000 miles long and it is said that it will be very destructive and is likely to destroy vast amounts of crops. 

Computer models show widespread destruction due to flooding and winds. It was supposed to start early this fall, but they say it is formed and will be starting earlier than first reported.

I can't tell you anything that I haven't told you before but I can add a some urgency to it now. Check your supplies, particularly food and medicine. Keep your vehicles full of gas and stick back as much additional fuel as you can.

Depending on your location, prepare now for heavy flooding. 

This is a 20-minute video and most of you will not watch it, but please at least watch the first few minutes of it. 

I have also included links to a couple of the MANY reports that I found on this event.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=u9nhuGVRM48&is=JOZh9mHjDILVaQBV

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https://www.newsnationnow.com/weather/scientists-say-theres-a-90-chance-of-a-godzilla-el-nino/

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/godzilla-el-nino-could-plunge-050000578.html

SURVIVAL TABS

For those of you who are not familiar with Survival Tabs, let me enlighten you...

In short, they are a complete meal replacement, NOT a supplement! They originated in the 60's as a liquid meal for the astronauts. The formula was later converted to powder and formed into highly compressed, lightweight tablets with an exceedingly long shelf life. How long? Officially, they say 10+ years (take note of the +). However, the way that these are formed and packaged, I am 100% convinced that they will last 25 plus years, if not indefinitely. I have eaten a lot of them that were over 18 years old and could tell no difference in taste or how they affected me.

 

They come in five delicious flavors; chocolate, banana, maple, orange and the old original, vanilla malt. The average person will need about 12 tablets PER DAY to maintain health and energy, and there are 180 tablets in a bottle. THAT'S 15 DAYS OF RATIONS PER BOTTLE! Children and smaller adults can get by on 6 to 10 tablets per day and remain healthy. These numbers will be slightly affected by the amount of physically activity one engages in. I'm 6'4" tall and 260 pounds and 15 tablets per day is plenty for me with no reduction in activity or energy. 

I have personally used Survival Tabs now for nearly 20 years, since about 2007. They are nutritious, long-lasting and extremely compact. They provide all the nutrition necessary to get by with no other supplement except water! I'VE DONE IT! A friend of mine and I went for 15 days eating nothing but S-Tabs and one light snack like a salad or a package of peanut butter crackers, or something like that. 180 tablets in a bottle provides you with 15 days worth of food for only 32 bucks! You literally cannot grow your own food for that price and you can put a year's supply for one person in a small suitcase! 

As I said above, I have been using these things for a long time. Simply put, they work! No, they don't really fill your tummy, they're tablets. But drink plenty of water with them and you'll be fine. I hope you understand that we're talk about comfortable survival here, not a 5-course meal. Survival Tabs alone provide all the nutrition you need. While it is certainly possible to live off of Survival Tabs alone for extended periods of time, that is not my intention for having them. In a long-term survival situation, I plan to supplement my food storage with them. There are a few different ways to do that. You can either get up and have a good breakfast and start your day with a full tummy and eat S-Tabs for the rest of the day or eat S-Tabs during the day and go to bed with a full tummy or eat very small portions of food at regular meal times and add a couple of S-Tabs to make sure you're taking in adequate nutrition.

Why haven't you seen ads all over the place for them? Easy. They don't need to advertise. In 2023, I ordered over $4000 worth of them in one order! They are invaluable for trips, camping, hiking, hunting, emergencies, long-term storage or just a quick snack when you're on the go! Amy and I keep them in every glove box and backpack and she carries some in her purse. Never get stranded and become weakened and ineffective for lack of nutrition! In order to keep your strength and energy up, you must have proper nutrition!

During these turbulent times, the average price on Amazon is $44.95 per bottle.

I am offering this potentially life-saving product for $32.00 per bottle INCLUDING SHIPPING! Like last time, in order to get the free shipping, you'll need to buy at least 5 bottles. 

If any of you have any questions or concerns about this or any other preparedness issue, PLEASE don't hesitate to give me a holler! I will help as much as I can. You can email me at: Training@SouthwestShootingAuthority.com or message me on Facebook.

Because I am offering these tablets at such a low price, I will only accept Venmo (@Desertscout1) or Zelle (SWSA762).

If you are local, of course I will accept cash.

I plan to make this order on 06 July 2026 so I will need to have money in hand no later than 05 July.

DON'T BE A STATISTIC!

In Liberty,

Cope R.

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In Liberty, Cope Reynolds (@Desertscout1) 

Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends. 

GLOCKS are what you show your enemies!

. 

In Liberty, Cope Reynolds (@Desertscout1) 

Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends. 

GLOCKS are what you show your enemies!

Separation of Church and State

So VERY well stated!

I am so glad that a public official FINALLY sees this for what it is! Hopefully, this puts an end to all the fabricated BS that has been shoved down our throats for so many years!

I so wish I had written this because it absolutely mirrors my sentiments on this subject. But, alas, I stole it from a public group on FB.

                **************

You know that pic floating around of Trump depicted in a Christ-like way, yeah, that honestly didn’t bother me in the slightest. 

Not because I’m endorsing it.  

Not because I think every “Christian-themed political image” is wise.  

But also not because I feel some need to act offended on cue every time the internet tells me I should be.

Let me be clear:

No true believer sees Trump as Jesus Christ.  

No genuine Christian believes Trump is the Savior, the Messiah, or some kind of second coming.

That’s not what or how we believe.  

And for the overwhelming majority of people sharing those kinds of images, I don’t think it’s what they mean either.

Can imagery be over-the-top? For sure.  

Can politics and faith get blended in unhealthy ways? Absolutely.  

Discernment matters.

But here’s the deeper point:

EVERY Christian is actually called to become more like Christ.

Not be Christ.  

Not replace Christ.  

Not rival Christ.  

But to be conformed to His image.

We are called to reflect His character.  

His humility.  

His love.  

His truth.  

His boldness.  

His sacrifice.  

His obedience to the Father.

That’s not blasphemy.  

That’s discipleship.

So no, I don’t worship politicians.  

I don’t confuse any man with the Son of God.  

But I also understand that the goal of the Christian life is that when people see us, they should see more of Jesus in how we live.

That should be true of Trump.  

That should be true of me.  

That should be true of you.

If we spent half as much time becoming Christlike as we do arguing over AI images and social media posts, we’d all be a lot better off and this country, this world, would be a better place.

FREE... 8-hr Disaster Preparedness Seminar

                           

I've been doing this particular class fairly regularly for 20 years, but never have I felt the urgency that I feel now! This class was $149 for the first couple of years that I did it, then it leveled off at $125 for the next 14 or 15 years.  During those first years, around 1200 people attended. As the urgency increased, the price decreased. It went down to $99 for a couple years, then $49. Why? Shouldn't it be the oposite? As demand and urgency increased, so shouldn't the price increase? Supply and demand? 

Some things are more important than money. The way I see it, getting this information out to as many people as I possibly can, in the shortest amount of time is critical right now. So here's the deal...

THE NEXT SEMINAR ON 2 MAY, 2026, WILL BE FREE OF CHARGE! That's how serious I am about this!

Here's some of what we'll cover...

Virtually every conceivable topic related to emergency preparedness will be discussed. Please bring note-taking materials!

This seminar will provide valuable and detailed information on the following topics:

* Storage of food and water

* Communication

* Storing fuel

* Stress management

* Medical concerns and      solutions.

* Defensive weapons.

* Finding, storing and purifying water

* Chemical, biological and nuclear information

* Survival Communications

Bartering and MUCH, MUCH MORE!!

Water and snacks will be provided but you'll still need to pack a lunch. There are no concessions or stores nearby. 

We will do a Q&A session during lunch.

SEATING IS LIMITED. This class will fill up quickly! PRE-REGISTRATION WILL RESERVE YOUR SEAT! Email Training@SouthwestShootingAuthority.net to reserve your seat!

This seminar will be held at Vernon Community Park in Vernon, AZ on Saturday, 2 May, 2026. We will start at 9am sharp and finish around 5pm. 

THE TIME TO FIND OUT IS NOW!

If you don't think we have some hard times coming in the not-too-distant future, you've got another think comin'! It's going to be a hell of a lot tougher on some of you than others. A whole bunch of that food you're throwing away every so often now would have come in real handy for you a little later on. Now, right now, today, would be a great time to start looking at your long-term food storage options. The time to find what you can't eat is now, I said CAN'T, not won't. Some of you are going to find out that your tastes will change dramatically when you haven't eaten for a while!

There's a little bit of redundancy in this installment. I have taken 5 or 6 Facebook posts that I posted over a period of 3 or 4 years and stuck them all in one. In the interest of time, I didn't separate them all out as well as I could have, so this post doesn't look like my writing usually does. So sue me!

The more I delve into this preparedness stuff, specifically the different advertised "best-by" dates of various foods, the more I am appalled at the amount of food that Americans waste every day. It is astonishing! I am 100% convinced that "best-by" dates are on many food containers for no other reason than to make consumers buy more food, and you know what? It works! I know people right here in our community that throw out perfectly good food that is one day past its mythical "best-by" date, or even close to it. Did you bother to check it out before you tossed it or did you just look at the arbitrary date on it declare it to be "expired"?

We have all been lied to, and have accepted that lie, our entire lives. We were all led to believe that the government, government inspectors and big corporations have always had our best interests in mind and maybe, once upon a time they did, but that dog doesn't hunt anymore.

We are all guilty, to some degree, of putting perfectly good food in the dumpster when it may be only a day or week past its date like it somehow turns to poison on that day. And then we hear of people all over the world and even right here in AZ that are literally dying of starvation! When organizations ask for donations, they are generally adamant about not accepting "expired" foods.

I have written much concerning shelf-lives of different foods. My conclusion, after much, much research and testing (and tasting) is... best-by dates are largely a farce. Expiration dates are different. You have to use your own judgment for that.

One of my installments in the continuing saga of food salvage is this one, from 1 Sept 2024:

Pillsbury Grands, one of the best canned biscuits on the market (and this most likely applies to any other canned biscuits or croissants or whatever) are good at least a year past their fictitious best-by date.

I don't know how this particular can of biscuits escaped being cast into the fiery furnace for such a long time, but there they were, minding their own business, just sitting in one of the shelves in the fridge. I glanced at the date, 27 December of 2023 and thought, perfect time for another experiment, so into the fiery furnace they went!

They were perfect! Fluffy and delicious and not one iota different than right out off the store shelf!

Or this one from 3 September 2023:

I've written a lot about shelve lives of certain foods. Very few packaged food items have an expiration date. Nearly all have a "best-by" date. Overwhelmingly, most foods are good WAY, WAY past their best-by date.

For example, during the process of rearranging things and consolidating boxes in preparation of our upcoming move, we ran across a couple of packages of pancake mix, one of which was dated 2017 . We happened to be in mood for pancakes yesterday so we decided to check it out...

The pancakes were thick and fluffy and as good any other pancakes! (6 years past its best-by date!

DO NOT WASTE FOOD JUST BECAUSE IT HAPPENS TO BE A LITTLE PAST THE STUPID BEST-BY DATE!

"Best-by dates"... Phfffftt! That date means virtually nothing in many cases!

We here at Casa de Reynolds mucho ignore "best-by" dates. I have experimented with this best-by nonsense many times and have decided that thousands of tons of perfectly good food gets wasted every year because of this arbitrary date. Who benefits from this? Well, the manufacturers of course!

We have used some things that were literally YEARS past the date printed on the box/can/bag. I once made a stew using canned corn and green beans that were 6 years past their best-by date. Admittedly, it was very slightly tinny to the taste but not really disagreeable. Yes, I know that it had lost much of it's nutritional value but the point is, it was not dangerous. My family of 6 ate it and not one of us died. So, if you have something to make up for some of the lost nutrients, a lot of this old stuff will still fill your tummy for the day. Add some peanut butter or a couple of Survival Tabs to each meal and you'll do just fine.

Got milk? From 19 March 2022...

A couple of days ago, we were packing up some of our stored foods and found a carton of Gossner milk that had a "best-by" date of over a year ago, 6 April 2021 so I put it in the fridge to run a little test. This morning, I opened it, smelled it, carefully tasted it and poured it on my cereal. It was just fine. I plan to get much more of this milk to store!

And here's some supporting information regarding packaged milk from 6 March 2024...

First, some of you may be familiar with the milk comes in the little cartons that does not need refrigeration. I am a huge milk drinker so this is a great resource to me. I keep a few in the pantry so if my refrigerated milk gets low and I can't make it to the store for whatever reason, I just pour one of these in the existing carton to hold me over until I can make it to the store. I routinely drink this milk even when it is a couple months past the BB date.

As some of you know, Amy and I used to be hired often to clean out homes or apartments of people that have passed away or moved into assisted living. There was almost always food of all types and ages. I recently got 2 small, single-serving cartons of that packaged milk that was almost 7 months past its BB date. I drank it last night and couldn't tell the difference in that and a fresh jug from Walmart!

If you're scared of it, give it to me!

How about this one from 17 April 2022?

I opened an old B ration marble cake last night that I have had for 22 years. If memory serves, they quit making them around 1995.

The cake was still slightly moist and tasted fine. Amy and our granddaughter both tried it as well. It was much better with milk.

One of the most frequently asked questions concerning food storage is, "How long does such and such last?" or "How long is something good past it's expiration date?". People get all wrapped around the axle over that dumb date.

First off, very few products have expiration dates anyway. Most of them are "best-by" dates. Most canned stuff is still safe to eat LONG after it's "best-by" date has passed. They may lose most or all of their nutritional value over time but few, if any, become dangerous except maybe tomato products and a few others.

Meat, such as Spam, potted meat, Vienna sausages, corned beef, etc; is particularly long lasting and retains its taste and protein content longer than many other foods. Such is the case in the following example from 15 April 2022:

Call me a savage but I love potted meat. It makes pretty decent sandwiches and is VERY good with crackers and sometimes some cheese. Yeah, I know what it is reportedly made of. I don't care. I've eaten much worse over the years. I still like it and I have always had a pretty good bit of it in storage.

So... I just found about 40-50 cans of it while packing to move. Their best-by date was 2012, 10 years ago. Well, I almost threw it out but due to upcoming problems that I see happening, I decided to pop one open and check it out. You may be surprised to hear that it was absolutely fine. Smelled good, tasted good... no problem.

You may think that was a little extreme. Well, hold my beer...

Later the same day, I found some dated 2006. SIXTEEN YEARS PAST THE DREADED "BEST-BY" DATE! Same thing. Perfectly fine!

So... this may not have any effect on your food wasting habits, but just know that in times of need, MOST of the stuff we are throwing away is absolutely, perfectly safe to eat. I'm sure that there is a limit, especially to certain types of food, but for the most part, just eat it!

Even if you're afraid to eat it, save it for barter material! Someone else may be glad to take it off your hands.

OK, last example. This one from today, 12 April 2026. Some of you remember when Dave Peelman and I distributed nearly 400,000 pounds of food to about a dozen communities, most of them out on the Navajo reservation. We would often wind up with a few boxes that weren't claimed and if we couldn't find them a new home, we would take them home with us because much of it was perishable. A few times, we had different boxes that had non-perishable stuff and lots of cheese. I couldn't bear to see any of that stuff go to waste, so I wound up with a bunch of cheese. We have one bin in our extra fridge packed with it and have largely forgotten about it. Well, today after church, Amy asked if I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich and then said, “Nevermind, we don't have any cheese.” She had forgotten about all that extra stuff we had in the back. She made the sandwiches and I promise they were the very best I've ever had!

The cheese? Packaged 10/20/23, sell by 11/19/2024...

In Liberty, Cope Reynolds (@Desertscout1) 

Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends. 

GLOCKS are what you show your enemies!

You Have 3 Minutes...

I've posted several things over the last 3 or 4 of years about the importance of stopping heavy bleeding and some methods for doing it. The title of this article indicates that you only have 3 minutes to get the bleeding stopped before you bleed out. 3 minutes is an average,  depending on the severity of the wound. It could be less than 2 minutes and may be over 5. Either way, you don't have time to mess around. The article HERE emphasizes that!

If you don't have at LEAST one good quality tourniquet in each 1st aid kit that you have, you don't have much of a 1st aid kit. The knowledge of when and how to use them is equally important! 

The CAT tourniquets are arguably the best strap-style tourniquets on the market, but are they the only ones that work? They are pretty expensive at usually over $30 each. 

So, here's my unsolicited analysis of a few of the more economical tourniquets that are readily available.

I bought 3 different kinds, all were WAY cheaper than the CAT. As I said, you pay a lot for the CAT name. That said, during training, I have seen straps break and stretch and windlasses bend and break on some of the earlier cheap ones. Probably 15 years ago, or so. HOWEVER, at least one company puts out what I consider a very acceptable alternative and there may be others as well.

My test consisted of applying the tourniquet to my arm above the bicep and tightening it until I had no pulse. I did that with each of them 5 times. Besides stopping the pulse, which was non-negotiable, I checked for ease of use and damage to the unit after each application.

The first one (and the best of the ones I tested) was called Bencai. You can get two of them for $12.99.

It has a metal windlass with fairly aggressive knurled ends. It also comes with a Sharpie in each package. The instructions had small, hard to see pictures but the procedure was explained adequately. 

I applied it and it only took about 1½ turns to stop the pulse. The knurling was aggressive enough that the windlass never slipped and I had no problem achieving maximum tightness. Even after 5 times, I didn't notice any stretching of the nylon strap that is threaded through the windlass.

For all intents and purposes, this one seemed as good as the CAT and did everything I expected of it for 20% of the price.

The 2nd one was a total piece of crap!

It was the ProbTis and cost $8.99 for a package of two.

The only upside to this one was the instructions were clear and diagrams (instead of photos) were easy to see. As cheap as these are, they are worth buying just for the directions! 

It, too, has a metal windlass with knurled ends, almost identical to the Bencai. However... overall 

construction looks cheap and the nylon strap that the windlass tightens had 3 times as much slack as the Bencai, right out of the package before I ever even tightened it. Because of that, it took about 4 turns to tighten adequately, and that wastes precious time. It also caused a big knot under the windlass that interfered with securing the windlass in the clip.

This one is a 100% no-go!

The third one was Buperor, also $8.99 for two. The instructions for this one were quite clear and the photos were better than the Bencai, but not as clear as the diagrams on the ProbTis

The windlass on this one was a huge problem. It was very slick plastic or polymer of some kind. It was strong enough but slipped out of my grasp 3 times trying to tighten it enough!

It had a tad more slack in the windlass strap than the Bencai, but only enough to cause me tighten it ½ more turn to achieve adequate tightness. I really like the serrated buckle on it, but the slick windlass made this one a no-go but it did come in 2nd place.

One small issue with all of them, including the CAT, is the velcro time strap that locks everything down. Be sure when you apply the tourniquet to start twisting the windlass in the opposite direction that the strap runs. It is time consuming and difficult to latch the windlass with the white strap constantly in the way. (See pic)

So, there you have it. If you want to buy cheaper tourniquets, these are the things that you should look for to ensure that your tourniquet will serve you adequately. As in most things, you get what you pay for. If you one that I didn't mention, buy only one or two and test them vigorously, using the guidelines above, before buying multiple units for all your kits!

There is also another type that I like very much is the RATS (Rapid Application Tourniquet System) tourniquet. . It is technically a strap-style tourniquet, but is of very strong and durable elastic construction.  The great thing about the RATS tourniquet, is that it is built in such a way that it can be used on children and pets because it can be made smaller than ANY of the conventional, strap-styletourniquets. It is easy to use and can be applied to self with one hand. Ideally, at least one of each type might be the ticket!

You're welcome!

Can't We All Just Get Along?

A question was posted today concerning the division and hatefulness that is so prevalent in America right now. I hear it in face to face conversations, radio, television and social media. People are asking, why we can't just agree to disagree anymore? Why can't we shake hands, put our differences aside and still be friends? Why do our differences in opinions or political ideologies result in unfriending and the dissolution of relationships? A lot of the people that I have seen asking these questions and trying to play peacekeeper are conservatives that still believe that our current dilemma is fixable if both sides could just find some middle ground make some attempt to compromise a little. It's always our side that tries to use reason, logic and common sense to fix things.

They are asking, "Can't we all just get along?"

Long story short, no, we cannot. Not anymore. Too much damage has been and continues to be done. Those that still believe in the traditional values that America was founded on are not willing to simply let them go. Too many good men and women died to create a Republic like no other in history. To create a free country that is the dream of practically every human being on the planet to at least visit, if not move to. Even more have died trying to preserve it. 

Officially, the 152nd celebration of Independence Day is approaching and I am reminded of a time nearly 100 years earlier when many "pre-Americans" came together to defeat the largest, most organized and well trained military in existence. The ones that didn't lend these early patriots a hand or the traitors that may have helped the King in some way, are equivalent of the progressives and liberals of today. 

America is also the envy of every evil, corrupt, despotic, tyrannical, two-bit wannabe ruler in existence. What tyrant wouldn't want to be in control of a country with the natural resources and vast amounts of untouched real estate that are available here? And many of them hate us simply because of the freedom that we enjoy (or did anyway).

America is being divided and destroyed by the Left and those that are sympathetic to their side. Virtually every civil, moral, social and patriotic value and tradition that ever existed in this country has been violated or erased by people that have every intention of destroying the Land of the Free. Abortion, gun control, normalizing pedophilia, permits, licenses, unreasonable taxes, CRT, racism, corruption, censorship, the economy and the environment. Boys and men are destroying the hopes and dreams of girls by competing in events that they have NO business competing in. Every level of government has offices that are being filled by people that don't know if they are male or female and their civilian counterparts that don't know which bathroom to use and the list goes on. The Founding Fathers would be sickened by what we have allowed to happen to their precious gem.

So, no, we can't just get along. Lines are being drawn between real Americans that cherish what the Founders gave us and those that would run her into the ground. Families are being divided. Life-long friends are parting ways. People are choosing sides. This happened one other time in America's history. 

It wasn't pretty...