4 Expenses to Remember When Building a Cabin

If you love the great outdoors, there is a little better way to enjoy it than building your very own cabin. You will find that such a place can become a holiday destination or possibly even a seasonal home if you want it to be. However, building a cabin is unlike a traditional home. There are several nuances that you must take into consideration.  Especially if you want at a finished cabin that will last for generations. Here are four expenses that you will want to keep in mind as you begin to build the cabin of your dreams.

Wood Treatment and Protection

If your cabin is going to be like most, it will be largely constructed out of wood. This gives it a beautiful exterior and adds to that outdoor ambiance that you have grown to love. At the same time, you will need to ensure that the wood is properly treated to last for decades. You must also keep the termites at bay, so remember to plan on annual expenses to get a professional pest control company out to keep your cabin safe at all times.

Sewage Disposal

When are out in the middle of nowhere, you have to account for sewage in one way or another. In the city, this is often taken care of for you. However, building your cabin will necessitate that you take matters into your own hands so to speak. Remember to plan on incorporating a septic tank system into the design of your cabin.

Energy Source

One of the great parts about building a cabin is that you are largely in control of how energy is provided to the residence. Depending on where you build, you will probably have many different options available to you. This might be the time to consider incorporating alternative energy sources, such as solar, into the design of the home.

Driveway Maintenance

You will also need to plan on how to get your vehicles up to your cabin. This will also mean incorporating driveway maintenance into your budget, particularly during the winter months. This will help make your experience much more desirable in the end.

These are just four of the many expenses you will want to keep in mind as you begin to build your cabin. These are all manageable if you will take the time to find the right professionals to take care of them for you. Remember to get the job done right the first time so that you can enjoy years of comfortable living in your new home.

5 Shooting Tips for Beginners

Just bought a firearm and ready to shoot?

Awesome!

But before you do anything with that firearm, read these shooting tips for beginners first. It’ll help you avoid common beginners mistakes (and a black eye). 

Let’s get started!

A Hunter’s Mind (Growth Mindset)

Everything starts in the mind. 

If you show up to the range for the first time expecting to stack perfect holes at 50 yards, then don’t go. Seriously. 

You’re going to fail. When you shoot, your shots will be off. No doubt about that. But you will become better through practice.

So, the first thing you need to do is adopt a growth mindset. Accept that you might not be good in the beginning, but through practice and dedication, you’ll become an aspiring shooter. 

Now that your mind is primed, it’s time move on to the other essential shooting tips for beginners…

Start Small (and breathe)

Like everything else in life, always start small.

Don’t be ambitious and start shooting at the 100-yard line. You won’t perform as good as you think.

It’s exactly like lifting weights for the first time. If you storm into the gym and try lifting a 100-pound dumbbell, what’s going to happen? I’ll let you answer that.

Instead, you want to start small and work your way up (25 yards is a good starting point). 

But before you start shooting, you need to understand shooting position (which I’ll cover down below) and your weapon. 

Know your firearm. The weight, feel, balance, mechanics (reloading, activating safety, trigger, etc.), recoil and cheek weld. Master your weapon. In fact, I recommend watching a beginners video for your firearm.

For example, if I’m using the AR-15 for the first time, I’d watch a video like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL-ZzgwkuzE

Once you primed your mind and internalized your firearm from top to bottom, it’s time to get in position…   

Beginner’s Shooting Position

There are multiple shooting positions: standing, sitting, prone and bench.

I definitely recommend starting off with the prone shooting position since it’s the easiest and most comfortable (for beginners). Another position I see a lot is bench shooting.

The most important thing you need to know here is when you place your firearm on the table, it’s crucial to have a rest for stability. You can use sandbags, rifle rest, elongated bag, bipod or something alike. 

Whatever you use, the point is to get the rifle as steady as possible. You don’t want the weapon to wobble around when you fire. 

After placing a steady rest, the sight should be eye level, allowing you to maintain a relaxed, erect head position without straining. 

Also, don’t lean heavily into the rifle to avoid forend pressure. Just make sure the butt of the firearm is nicely snugged into your shoulder. Lastly, have a firm grip so that the weapon doesn’t move around. 

Here’s a great video to watch to help understand proper shooting position:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AUldPdj9E4

(And if you’re using a handgun, read this article about proper handgun grip)

Now that you are in the proper position, let’s touch on something that most people don’t understand…

Cheek Weld 

Do you know how you lay your cheek on top of the weapon’s stock? That’s cheek weld.

Good cheek weld should allow your dominant eye to comfortably look straight into your sight without straining your neck. To achieve good cheek weld, firmly engage your cheek onto the stock. 

A common issue, however, is that people use scopes for their weapon and depending on the scope, the eye alignment can be thrown off. If your scope is higher than your eye level, then place your supporting hand on top of the stock to raise cheek weld.

Talking about scopes, I highly recommend a rifle scope if you want to increase your accuracy. Don’t know where to start? Read this guide: how to choose a great scope.  

By now, you’re fully aware of adopting a hunter’s mindset, starting small, shooting position and cheek weld. What about actually firing the gun?

Pulling the Trigger 

It’s not as easy as clicking a button.

Matter of fact, before pulling the trigger, you need to be in a state of calmness. Jerking the trigger can shift the gun, causing you to miss.

To avoid any possibilities of jerking the trigger, it’s important to get comfortable with the gun mechanics, especially the trigger. 

You want to know exactly where the trigger is without moving your eyes away from the sight. It should become second nature (and it will be through repetition).

Before firing, make sure to focus on each and every single shot. Take your time, breathe and focus on the target. Don’t try pumping out bullets like fireworks. Instead, make each shot count.

Take one last breathe, slowly exhale and then apply steady pressure to the trigger until the gun fires. Continue squeezing to avoid jerking the gun before the bullet leaves the barrel.

You’re Ready! 

You’re finally ready to go to the range and start practicing.

Don’t forget that you’ll miss the first couple of shots you take. But as you keep practicing, adjusting and testing, you’ll become a pro in no time! 

If you follow these 5 simple shooting tips for beginners, you’ll be off to a much better and successful start — I guarantee it!

Things You Can Learn from Camping That Will Make You a Better Prepper

Their are many things you can learn from camping that will make you better prepares. Nothing can replace the sheer teaching power of the experience. While you can read books upon books about camping and listen to friends that wax poetic about the bond between man and nature, only once you get a chance to test your survival skills in the wild – without electricity, a solid roof over your head, a flushable toilet and running water – will you get a chance to test your survival skills.

Every experienced camper will tell you that preparation is 60% of survival in the wild, so if you want to face the hardships of the wild head on, here are things you can learn from camping that will make you a better prepper. 

The Mechanics of Using Water

If you think that a tent is the most important piece of equipment to bring along for your camping trip, think again. If push comes to shove, you can always crash in your car, and while this is not exactly a coveted camping experience, it is functional. 

At the end of the day, the most important element in your camping setup is water. Ideally, you can bring several big plastic jugs and keep them nice and covered so they are protected from the sun. In addition, you can bring a portable fridge with bottles of cooled water, but the most eco-friendly practice would be to take a reusable bottle with you and just top it off from the jugs. 

Above all else, you need to ration your water since you also have to use it for washing dishes, equipment and, well, yourself. A prolonged camping trip will inevitably illustrate you just how difficult it is to store and ration water and prep you for whatever challenges come your way. 

Preparing a Meal

Initially, the idea of preparing a hot meal on your first camping trip might sound daunting; impossible even. However, preparing creative camping meals doesn’t require you to be a culinary expert and a survivalist all wrapped into one.  (Try my spam boxcars)

First of all, you should keep the meals as simple as possible, but make sure that they are nutritious. Beans come to mind in that case, and they are a perfect exemplar of both plain and nourishing. Second, do most of the preparation at home. The more effort you make in your kitchen, the more time you’ll have to relish in the wonders of nature. 

Keep in mind that meat, while delicious and appropriate for camping trips, is a bit messy to prep. While utensils and disposable plates are a must, do not forget to bring some basic cleaning supplies along, as well as wet wipes. 

Balancing Weight and Usefulness

Initially, you will either underpack or overpack – it is unavoidable. Supplies are heavy and you will learn this the hard way if you decide to go backpacking for your camping trip. The experience might encourage you to pack light next time, but this is far from true. 

Remember – it’s always better to drag along too much than to have too little. However, this will also show you that you should venture out on camping trips more frequently and, through trial and error, learn how to achieve your own balance of weight when it comes to equipment. 

Wilderness Survival

A camping trip can be a perfect opportunity to learn how to live off the land. First of all, you need to learn as much as you can about the biome you are about to ‘brave’. Fishing, hunting, and gathering edible fruits can be an excellent way to ‘stretch’ your supplies. Your ability to discern an edible mushroom from a poisonous one can become an invaluable trait during the times of crisis. 

This is why, apart from camping, you should take extra time to learn how to fish, hunt and tend a makeshift garden. 

How to Keep Clean

It has already been mentioned that sanitation can present an issue, depending on the sheer amount of water you’ve managed to pack into the trunk of your car. 

However, this is not where those problems end. The question of sanitation should be addressed and taken care of from day one; the last thing you need is to wait for the battery of problems to emerge. Sanitation wipes and disinfection gels go a long way, and they usually don’t take too much space. 

Finally, if you find yourself in a situation that you need to take care of personal hygiene while you are in the midst of nature, you should find the nearest body of water. Running water is preferable to stale, and then you should go as far upstream as you possibly can before you find a spot to clean yourself up. 

Conclusion

Camping trips are primarily a wonderful way to savor the natural splendor and reconnect with the rhythm of nature. However, this is not the only wonderful revelation that such an outing can grant you. It can also prepare you for a variety of inconvenient situations, simply because camping requires you to be resourceful and self-reliant. All and all, it is an incredible experience that will transform the way you look at many conveniences which we typically take for granted in life.

The Benefits of Wireless Charging for Emergencies

These days, mobile phones are instrumental parts of the daily lives of almost anyone in the world. From practical uses such as keeping in touch with loved ones or acquaintances, to entertainment purposes such as browsing through social media or gaming, there’s no denying the huge impact these devices have on human existence.

Besides all these, mobile phones may even prove to be crucial in life or death scenarios. Phones can also be used to contact necessary emergency personnel as well as function as a flashlight, compass, or GPS navigator.

Naturally, a phone with zero battery is useless. Therefore, phone chargers, especially wireless ones, are just as important as mobile phones during emergencies. With wireless chargers, you are free from the constraints traditional mobile charging methods have. Going wireless means faster and easier setup time while also being more energy efficient along with other benefits.

With all that being said, let’s take a look as to what wireless chargers are and how vital they can be during emergencies.

What are Wireless Chargers & How Do they Work?

Believe it or not, wireless charging already existed since the late 19th century, due to the technological prowess and innovations of Nikola Tesla. With his advancements in transmitting electricity through the air using the magnetic field between transmitters and receivers, Tesla essentially invented the first wireless charging system. However, for about a century, this technology was virtually useless due to minimal practical applications during the 1800s, and thus was not extensively developed. Today, conventional wireless chargers harness the same technology Tesla developed, using charging mats as transmitters to transfer energy to your phone, the receiver.

What are the Benefits of Wireless Chargers During Emergencies?

Faster to set up

During emergencies, every second counts. In these crucial situations, panic sets in most of the time and causes your body to respond much slower than usual. Laying your phone down onto the charging mat is all you need to do to charge your phone instead of wasting time, nervously fumbling over to connect the charging cable to your phone. By effortlessly putting it down on the charger mat, you’ll get to save precious time compared to using traditional chargers.

Wireless chargers are also beneficial for backup batteries. Charging your extra battery by simply placing it on a charging mat without needing to put it in a phone will come in handy during emergencies.

They fill up your phone faster

Although it’s been somewhat of an open secret over the past couple of years that wireless chargers are less efficient in charging smartphones, this is not the case now. Some of the latest smartphones with more advanced wireless-charging capabilities charge faster than traditional wired charging.

Having a full battery to use with handy phone features such as flashlights or GPS systems during emergencies is exceptionally crucial.

Easier to use

With traditional chargers, you are at the mercy of power outlets. In scenarios wherein power sockets are unavailable or are located in poorly situated areas, making short charging cables unusable, using traditional charging methods during emergencies is not recommended. These scenarios will result in instances wherein you’ll repeatedly be yanking your phone and may end up disconnecting or destroying your phone adaptor, wire, and even your phone itself.

With wireless chargers, you’ll be able to use your phone conveniently as these wireless chargers are situated on top of flat surfaces. Contacting the necessary authorities in case of emergency will be more convenient with your phone comfortably being on its right-side-up.

Additional Benefits

They’re cheaper

It is common knowledge that smartphone cables break easily. The poor quality results in constant replacements which cost more over time. With wireless charging, you’ll never have to deal with frayed and tangled charging cables again.

Furthermore, charging cables have also been known to accumulate rust as time goes by. On the other hand, wireless chargers are not corroded by liquid substances so easily, hence lasting longer and producing less waste over time than conventional charging cables.

They’re safer for you

There have been many documented cases of smartphone chargers short-circuiting and exploding. This results to damaged property or physical injuries for you or anyone near it. One of the additional advantages of using wireless chargers is that it reduces the risk of circuit sparks and electric shocks from plugging it in outlets since you only have to plug it in once and not move around with it.

They’re safer for your phone

Malware is harmful to your phone. And typically, Malware hides in cables, especially in public charging stations. With a charging mat, your phone is virtually safer as smartphone wireless charging is a relatively new technology. Hence people have yet to find a way to exploit it.