Month: September 2005

State By State – Colorado

Colorado: Population: 4.3 million. Population Density: 41.3 per square mile (Rank 8 of JWR’s top 19 states). Area: 104,000 square miles (rank 8 of 50). Average car insurance cost: $881/yr. (rank 11 of 50). Average home insurance cost: $571/yr. (rank 12 of 50). Crime Safety Ranking: 26 of 50. Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 74%. Per capita income: $32,434 (rank 7 of 50). ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 15 of 50. Plusses: A low “total tax burden” of 8.4%. Has a high rating in “education freedom” for home schooling (ranked #8 of 50). Minuses: Fairly high population density …


Letter From “Buckshot” Bruce Re: Feral Dogs, Post-TEOTWAWKI

I started writing about this topic after reading that there are 100 millions dogs in America, back in the fall of 1998. Every year people e-mail with more true dog attack stories. Since that time I have put them in my newsletter. The first three articles are still posted here: www.survival-center.com/buckshot/dogs.htm Now, in today’s climate of terrorist attacks, hurricanes that could cause an economy collapse changing America into chaos I think it might be something interesting to share. The premise is the majority of the people in bad times would let their pets go to fend for themselves. These pets …


Letter from The Army Aviator Re: Katadyn Versus Berkefeld Filters

Here are some useful specifications: Katadyn Drip Filter 0.2 micron ceramic depth filter (Note: This is the ABSOLUTE filtration specification, NOT the Nominal filtration rating.) British Berkefeld Big Berkey With filtration rating efficiencies of >98% down to 0.2 microns >99.9% at 0.5 microns >99.99% at 0.9 microns (Spectrum Labs). Note: Berkefeld’s ABSOLUTE filtration specification is 0.9 microns. (See the above line.) I ‘ve watched the PR advertisements regarding Berkefeld and just sat there shaking my head. I was sent some Berkefeld filter replacements which were touted as equal to Katadyn’s but a much better price. NOT! When I read the …



Note from JWR:

Today, I cover California–the third of 19 states in my rankings of retreat potential. I would appreciate your help finding more advertisers for SurvivalBlog. If you know of someone that offers goods or services related to preparedness (such as tools, water purifiers, guns, gunsmithing, custom knives, first aid kits, photovoltaics, communications equipment, food storage, web gear, et cetera) please let them know about SurvivalBlog.com. Currently, small ads are just $40 per month!


State By State – California

California: Population: 34 million+. Population Density: 214 per square mile (Rank 1 of JWR’s top 19 states). Area: 158,706 square miles (rank 3 of 50). Average car insurance cost: $765/yr. (rank 23 of 50). Average home insurance cost: $592/yr. (rank 9 of 50), Crime Safety Ranking: 39 of 50. Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 30%. Per capita income: $32,149 (rank 8 of 50). ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 37 of 50. Plusses: Mild climate and a long growing seasons in most parts of the state. High wages. Minuses: Excessive population density, high crime rate, copious smog, high cost …


Letter Re: Missouri’s Retreat Potential

Jim: I see that Missouri is not on your list.  There are a lot of good things to say about the Ozarks of Southern Missouri (and Northern Arkansas).  Self reliant culture which is pro gun and private property and which respects people’s privacy.  There is very low population density in many counties (such as Shannon population 8,300, Reynolds 6,700, Oregon 10,300, and Carter 5,900). Very low cost of living and a very homogeneous population (mostly Scotch-Irish). You find people from California moving to Missouri since they can live on just their Social Security there. Regards, – “Nearnorth” JWR Replies: Your …


Letter Re: Large Volume Liquid Fuel Storage

Mr. Rawles, Many thanks for an excellent web site!  I read it daily with much anticipation.  Your book Patriots is a first-class work as well.    Storing fuel is a must for a survival retreat.  Having said that, how do you get delivered several hundred gallons of diesel (or gas) without raising eyebrows?  I live in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina on a mountain top.  Very private and quiet, but not a farm.  Maybe it is easier than I presume and nothing would raise flags to delivery folks filling a couple of above ground tanks.  Is there an …




Hurricane Katrina Update:

The situation on the Gulf Coast is still fairly grim. The evacuation is nearly complete, and much needed supplies are now pouring in. But the communities that are still hurting the most are the small inland towns that were cut off from communications and that still don’t have power restored. The power utilities are making Herculean efforts to get power restored, but is is a slow process. Their crews are working around the clock. These are good men doing a commendable job. The bureaucrats at FEMA are getting mostly bad reviews for their performance in coordinating the disaster relief effort. …


State By State – Arkansas

Arkansas: Population: 2.67 million. Population Density: 50.2 per square mile (Rank 5 of JWR’s top 19 states). Area: 53,187 square miles (rank 27 of 50). Average car insurance cost: $721/yr. (rank 30 of 50). Average home insurance cost: $494/yr. (rank 19 of 50). Crime Safety Ranking: 8 of 50. Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 66%. Per capita income: $21,995 (rank 49 of 50). ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 23 of 50. Plusses: Low property taxes. Minuses: High population density (by western states standards.) Tornado prone (ranked #5 out of top 20 States). Poverty. The Arkansas economy barely scrapes …


Letter Re: U.S. Population Density, Nuclear Reactors, and Primitive Skills

JWR,  It may be of some assistance for you to check out http://www.insc.anl.gov/pwrmaps/map/united_states.php.  It will support your position on locating west of the Mississippi by showing Nuclear Power Reactors in the United States in map form. It also is an eye opener! One of your “Bloggers” recently suggested that more information on primitive subjects should be looked into.  Since I have been taking so much information from your Blog,  I felt that I must contribute! See: http://www.bagelhole.org//article.php/Food/127/ – G.C.P.


Letter Re: Product Review of Rite in The Rain Waterproof Paper

Hello All, I have two of the size that fits in your shirt pocket. That’s where this little product endorsement starts. I was out in the bush one weekend and used my note pad extensively. As usual I got really dirty and forgot to retrieve my Rite in the Rain note book from my shirt pocket. Well, I washed it in the washing machine and dried it in the dryer as well. Upon discovering this I felt really silly, however, to my surprise the note book and all my hen scratching was still intact and readable. I could still write …


Letter From The Goat Lady Re: Free Survival Medicine Reference

Memsahib:   In your spare time (LOL) you might want to check out this book, downloadable free at http://www.aussurvivalist.com/downloads/AM%20Final%202.pdf or hard copy at http://www.cafepress.com/austeremed.23362365   Survival and Austere medicine would be a REALLY handy thing to have in a SHTF situation as it’s practical info, field tested, and doable by a non-medical person.  All the authors are in the medical field either as MDs, EMTs, RNs, etc.  They knoweth what they are doing and talking about.  Chapter 8 is really good on herbs, preps, uses, and the content is approved by the above listed medical personal.  I think Chapter 8 is really …