Case of 93's

[Deadheadmatt]

I bought one of those cheap cases of 1993 MRE's off ebay. Supposedly they have been kept in prime condition for all of these years. Any special advice on what to look for when I open these?

[dirtbag]

Yeah,if it smells bad... No,can't go by that. hmmm if it looks bad... Noooo , can't go by that If it looks and smells like someone puked in the bag.... it's GOOD!!!!
Actually,just use common sense. The entrees seldom go bad, but they WILL get rather strange looking sometimes.They're not decomposing per se,rather just rearranging themselves to be more .... comfortable

[kman]

Welcome to the forums, Deadheadmatt!

What dirtbag said. All the 1990s MREs that I've tried have still been good. The only questionable items have been the applesauce and cheese spread - and even those were probably still edible - just not appetizing-looking.

Here's a link to a thread I started on a review of a 1993 MRE:

viewtopic.php?t=260&highlight=1993+review

[Deadheadmatt]

Thanks everyone. I guess I will start with the Tuna first so that I can compare it to K-man's taste test. I can't believe how expensive it has gotten to track down fresher MRE's. Shipping to Idaho has been a killer. Anyone have any secret sources out here?!?!?

Also, can someone point me to a good website re: Marlin firearms? I have an old lever action that is acting up and won't eject and I need some advice.

[kman]

Can't help you with the Marlin firearms info. I'd recommend starting a thread in the Off-Topic forum so more people will see the request. Also check out the recent Surplus guns thread - might be something in there.

As for how to find affordable MREs, you just have to keep a close eye on Ebay. There have been a number of decent priced auctions lately - $30-$35 buy-it-now with reasonable shipping - but they go pretty fast.

If you're familiar with RSS and news aggregators, I'd recommend setting up one of those programs and subscribe to an MRE-search thread. Ebay has recently added this feature where after you do a search, you'll see a little "RSS" icon either somewhere on the web page or in the address bar (depends on your browser). You can use this link to "subscribe" to your search and when new items appear, your RSS feed will get updated immediately.

[BigMark]

I'm picking up cases for no more than $65, and that's because I wasn't paying attention to shipping. They're easy to get, you've just gotta watch for them, start off by going to the last page of MRE's when you hit ebay, and then move towards what's current. Sometimes you'll see a buy it now that no one else has gotten, and it'll be a great price.

[Deadheadmatt]

OK...I just have one of these for lunch. All of the inner packages looked OK. No bulges or leaks. The crackers tasted OK, a little stale but not bad. The entree color was OK, but the sauce seemed a little gritty. Flavor was good. I passed on the grape jelly. The tootsie rolls weres still soft and chewy.

[dirtbag]

Hola,Deadheadmatt
As to the Marlin,the ejector is a two piece system.One part is attached to the bolt and holds the cartridge rim and the other piece is on the left side (inside the frame) and is a V shaped item.Both are available at a gun shop and can be easily replaced by anyone.
Remove the lever screw,slide out the lever. slide out the bolt,and reach inside and remove the V piece if it didn't fall out already. the other piece is on the front end of the bolt.
Easy as 1.2.3.
http://www.urban-armory.com/diagrams/marlin33.htm
Items 4 and 24
HTH,
steve

[dirtbag]

Or maybe # 25,it's hard to see. looks like a V laying on its side.

[Richard w.]

Look for swollen packaging. That's an indication that something bad is growing in there. Also smell.

I believe that proper storage for MRE's would be in a refrigerated warehouse, so I find it amazing how every seller of older MRE's on eBay claims that his stuff has been stored properly.

Not a one of them admits to keeping them in his garage or his hunting cabin or his trunk like the rest of us usually do.