Notes from JWR:

We have finished the judging for Round 9 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The first prize winner is: E.C.W., MD, for her article: “Wound Care: An Emergency Room Doctor’s Perspective” (posted on February 24th.) She will receive a four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate that is worth up to $1,600. Congratulations! Second prize goes to J.D., for his article “Fish Farming for Survival Protein“. J.D. will receive an autographed copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. Honorable Mention prizes go to Mike McD for “Selecting a Retreat Location in Australia“, and to CMC for “Blue …




Seven Letters Re: Advice on Magazine Duplexing Systems

Dear Jim, Some other things to consider with multiple magazines attached together: The AR-15 was designed with a 20 round magazine, which was increased to 30. The magazine catch can chip, break, wear or jam with too much weight. If one magazine is inverted (“jungle clipped”), the bottom, then one is going to get the feed lips dinged up or full of dirt, as well as preventing one from taking a good prone position. Having a spare magazine in hand or readily accessible on the gear is just as fast a change as those overpriced and clunky gadgets. As to …




Letter Re: Survival Kits and Salt Storage

Sir: I came to the survivalist mindset by the strangest of all possible paths – a literary one. I would probably be considered more of a “self-reliantist” than a survivalist, but I see that as a fine point. I’ve always been the sort of guy who has wanted to know how to make things from scratch, and I’ve learned a lot in my planning efforts. I’ve been slowly compiling an encyclopedia of important skills and knowledge that is now in excess of 1000 pages and includes things from the most primitive tasks to the light-industrial. I thought I might offer …




Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael Z. Williamson sent this: Jakarta Floods Linked to Illegal Construction. Mike notes: “Something to watch out for in a collapsing or collapsed society is failure of drainage and other infrastructure. Floods are messy and spread diseases.   o o o RBS sent this story of a local government running roughshod: Brooksville, Florida proposes to foreclose homes and seize cars over less than $20 in parking tickets.    o o o Rourke (the moderator of the Yahoo Jericho Discussion Group) pointed us to a web page that shows how to convert a typical drill motor into a hand crank generator. …