Category: Contest

Prelude to World War – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1.) Defense Production Act The Defense Production Act was passed in 1950.  It is an important piece of legislation that we should all know about.  Why?  Before the bombing of Pearl Harbor part of Congress (GOP) was advocating an isolationist stance regarding the war in Europe.  Since Congress controls the budget, it made providing military aid to our Allies extremely hard.  The Defense Production Act aimed at making it easier for a U.S. president to prepare the U.S. for war without “permission” from Congress.  One key part of the act is the ability of the president to …


Prelude to World War – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

If you ask most Americans when World War Two started and you’ll probably get December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, as an answer.  Another response might be September 1, 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.  These dates are significant, in that these are when open and sustained military operations commenced, but they definitely were not the start of the war.   It would be ignorant to think that Germany just up and decided to invade Poland, or Japan bomb Pearl Harbor, out of the blue on these dates.  There were prolonged periods of tension that led up to the …



Building a Simple One-Tube Radio Kit – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

Introductory Disclaimer: I have not been paid for writing this article, and I own the radio being reviewed. Scenario: The world has gone mad, it is now TEOTWAWKI and it’s just not a pretty picture folks. And if that wasn’t bad enough, what with the power grid being down, looters and such, and some bozo declaring martial law effectively shutting down all radio, internet, and anything capable of receiving any information except what “THEY” want you to hear … hard to imagine? If you can find a holocaust survivor, or anyone who lived during WWII ask them if that sounds …


Small Scale PV Power For TEOTWAWKI, by Mike in Alaska

When it all hits the fan and the grid is gone for whatever reason, be it EMP, all out nuclear exchange, a hurricane, or possibly a tornado, snow knocking down trees, or as we say up here in the interior of Alaska the four reasons power goes out: it’s either too hot, too cold, too wet, or the dawgs pee on the phone pole, and when that happens, we are now all equally being given a ride back in time … a time of no lights to just switch on, no medical life sustaining devices, and now it’s “game-on”, folks. …


Practical Preparedness Suggestions – Part 2, by R.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) 5. Self Defense This segment references reading, training and situational awareness that will be difficult for some people. Use what you can. Learn how to profile people and your surroundings. It happens in many forms, constantly. There are predators who don’t care about how nice you are. (Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”) They will take advantage of the graces and courtesies that we usually employ to soften or de-escalate a problem. Learn what and how those predators think. Trust me, you …


Practical Preparedness Suggestions – Part 1, by R.J.

This article is a compilation of practical preparedness tips, insights, and lessons learned. It starts with what I call inner resources, or mindset and moves toward the hard, practical items. I offer a rather broad field of experience, including military/industrial electrical work, Christian hospitality in organized retreat settings, hospice/end of life care, and some alternative power experience. I’ll close the article with a Christian exhortation as we head into this Christmas season. Mindset You can break the preparedness mindset down into: homesteading, military, social, domestic categories, etc; or synthesize it into one grand holistic prepster/survivalist perspective. Just don’t flunk the …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 121

We’ve announced the winners of Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 120 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to  The Chemical Engineer, for Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge. See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8. It was posted October 20-27, 2025. He will …


Experience with a Mouse-Proof Cellar, by Pescadores

This article is about my experience using a shipping container as a mouse-proof cellar. A couple of important notes up front – shipping containers are not designed to have a load-bearing roof. I discovered that quickly while attempting to put a dirt cover over the top of the container. With a small load of dirt on top, the roof of the metal container began to bow. I shoveled the dirt back off of there, and revised my plan as explained below. So don’t do that. Also, it is essential that the container be installed above the groundwater table to prevent …


Experimentally Reloading Aluminum Case .45 ACP, by Aging Plinker

In the past if anyone had asked me if it were possible to reload aluminum-case autoloading pistol rounds I would have said no. Is it possible? Yes and no is my answer now. It’s not a good idea though, in my opinion. In the milder seasons of the year we do a lot of pistol shooting. Recently, at a spot that at least three generations of shooters use I noticed a pile of spent aluminum .45 ACP cases. I knew the ammunition existed but had never seen any for sale in this area. Examining one, I noticed that it had …


Bullet Drop: It’s About Time, by Mr. Wobbet

This article gives another perspective on understanding ballistics charts. Introduction I am not much of a hunter. Over the past five years going up to my in-law’s place, I’ve taken about a dozen shots at the feral pigs that root up sections of their land. I have zero hits on running pigs. If you line up a handful of soda cans filled with water at 25 yards, I can go town on those. But with the pigs out at 200 yards, I am about useless, even when the neighbor has lent me his really nice hunting rifle. A few weeks …


Dakota Power Bank and PV Panel – Part 2, by Mike in Alaska

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) The Dakota Lithium Power Bank can supply up to 2,400 watts by itself and can supply you with 4,800 peak AC when needed. This is according to their user’s manual that comes with the unit. That 4,800 watts is a rating given when a second power bank unit is set up in parallel with the first unit. The bank came with the necessary connector to link it with a second bank, and I am planning to buy a second unit to add to the setup I have now.


Dakota Power Bank and PV Panel – Part 1, by Mike in Alaska

As the saying goes “One is none, two is one, three is two …. and if you are building your preparations with only one back up then you have failed to prepare.” Disclaimer: I purchased the system with my own funds. I am not being paid by the company for this article. We live in the Arctic area of Alaska. Our winters here are long and dark, and they can be brutal. For us it starts in mid-August when the sun begins to set earlier and rise later in the day, and the truth be known, it starts June 21st …


Review: Church Security 1 at Paladin Tower Tactics, by WKYHomesteader

In July 2025, Kentucky Sustainable Living held their annual Homesteading & Preparedness Festival. (If you happen to live in the area, I highly recommend attending!) On the first day, while wandering “vendor row”, the wife and I met and spoke with Scott Willey of Paladin Tower Tactics. Among the stuff on his table, the flyer for his Church Security 1 class really caught my eye. It is an eight-hour long class that is intended to prepare the student “for the Gunfight, the Legal Fight, and the Spiritual Fight.” Prior to this, I had never had any professional firearms training other …


Evaluation of the Huxwrx Flow 556k Suppressor, by C.S.

With January 1st, 2026 and free-of-charge Federal transfer tax stamps for suppressors, SBRs, and SBSes approaching, I believe that many SurvivalBlog readers will soon be looking to purchase NFA items, be it their first or tenth such item. So, I’m writing this short article on my experiences with the Huxwrx 556k suppressor. I hope to help fellow readers make an informed purchase when or before January 1st comes around. As a disclaimer, I have no affiliation with Huxwrx. This suppressor was purchased with my own money over a year ago, and I have since put around 2,000 rounds of 5.56 …