Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 16 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 16 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entries. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.




Camping Trips as Training for WTSHTF, by DPM

In the times that may soon be upon us, we may need to live in a way we are not accustomed to or prepared for. I suggest camping as a method of acclimatization to those circumstances. My brother and I are avid campers. Usually getting up to higher elevations, at least 25 times a year. These are often not just overnighters but from two days to up to a week. My personal best year was 32 camping trips from mid February to as late as November, including a full week as a vacation. I have gotten too much sun on …




Letter Re: Silver Coins Holding Their Own Against Inflation

Sir; First, this interesting bit from an article from the Chicago Tribune: Food Price Inflation Changes How We Shop. Here are some quotes from the article: “Steadily rising food costs aren’t just causing grocery shoppers to do a double-take at the checkout line — they’re also changing the very ways we feed our families. The worst case of food inflation in nearly 20 years has more Americans giving up restaurant meals to eat at home. We’re buying fewer luxury food items, eating more leftovers and buying more store brands instead of name-brand items…” “Record-high energy, corn and wheat prices in …




Letter Re: Advanced Medical Care and Transport After TEOTWAWKI

Mr. Rawles, I have been a reader of SurvivalBlog for at least a year now, and I feel it’s time to get involved. During this time I have been adding to my preps, building a library, and re-certifying my medical credentials. I have also done a lot of reading, getting many opinions concerning the future. I found one thing that I am at a loss for, and that is the subject of this letter. In all my medical re-certification courses and also in the medical library that I have put together, I have these questions: If society does go down …




Odds ‘n Sods:

RBS recommended this article from Fortune: The great inflation cover-up    o o o SurvivalBlog reader “CC” in Centennial, Colorado, asked for my recommendations for local preparedness gear dealers, since he doesn’t like the “paper trail” created by mail orders. (This, I have noticed, is a common concern among SurvivalBlog readers, and I don’t blame them.) One store that I can recommend for anyone in the greater Denver metropolitan area is The Ready Room, in Littleton, Colorado. Phone: is (303) 298-9911. Another “cash and carry” buying opportunity is the Tanner Gun Show, in Denver.    o o o I’ve been …