Year: 2009

Practical Survival Trapping, by Jason C.

There is nothing more soothing to the soul then quietly enjoying a stroll through the woods, forests, and outdoor areas of this great countryside. And having a rifle or shotgun over your shoulder for the chance opportunity at a squirrel, deer, dove, or pheasant is nothing short of perfection for many of us. However, in a survival situation, a hard day of hunting with nothing to show for it is not only depressing but can be downright dangerous. A person in a survival situation must conserve their energy at all costs. Any activity that doesn’t produce something towards the goal …


Letter Re: A Distaff Prepper’s Comments on an Appleseed Shooting Weekend

Mr. Editor, I just wanted to let you know I attended my first RWVA Appleseed shoot last weekend and it was a great experience. I found them from their link on SurvivalBlog. I learned how to use a sling and fire from different positions, among other things, and over all improved my mastery of my rifle. It was well worth my time for the weekend and I will be attending another one in a couple of months. Another nice feature of the Appleseed program is ‘women shoot free’ ! So husbands can bring their wives (children shoot free too, up …


Letter Re: Brumby Compressed Air-Powered Well Pumps

Dear Captain Rawles, Are you perchance familiar with Brumby Well Pumps? They work using compressed air and are being manufactured in Australia. From what I can tell, this is a good idea if you can get compressed air to the pump. This leads to the next question: Is there a practical way of operating an air compressor with either a wind turbine or a mechanical means not requiring the grid or a gasoline engine of some sort? When I lived in Germany I saw a number of old Volkswagen air-cooled engines that had been converted to serve as air compressors. …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Map: US swine flu by state (Thanks to JP for that link) A/H1N1 Swine Flu Tamiflu Resistance Spreading British Medical Association Warns Parents Against “Swine Flu Parties” UK: Girl, 9, Dies in Big Surge of Swine Flu Cases Swine Flu Outbreak Worsens in Argentina New England Journal of Medicine: Spread of a Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Via Global Airline Transport


Economics and Investing:

Reader Wayne S. sent us a link to an interactive map with three “toggle” views that gives some very useful and interesting information for anyone looking to relocate. Wayne notes: “It’s truly amazing to see that most of the states that have done the best job managing their budgets are also the same states that infringe upon personal liberties the least…. Coincidence or not? As you have said many times on your blog, ‘vote with your feet!’” Reader HPD suggested this piece by Thorsten Polleit: Inflation: What You See and What You Don’t See From frequent content contributor GG: U.K. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Cheryl sent us a link to a PDF from Brookings: Which Path to Persia: Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran    o o o Reader “MysteryMeat” mentioned this New York Times article: It’s Now Legal to Catch a Raindrop in Colorado    o o o SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson recommended two John Campbell (The Arizona Bushman) outdoor survival videos available on YouTube: The Hand Fire Drill and a Field Expedient Bow    o o o The folks at Directive21 (one of our newest advertisers) have expanded their product line to include stainless steel Berkey water …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Inflation is a special concern over the next decade given the pending avalanche of government debt about to be unloaded on world financial markets. The need to finance very large fiscal deficits during the coming years could lead to political pressure on central banks to print money to buy much of the newly issued debt.” – Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, from commentary in The Financial Times, June 26, 2009


Note from JWR:

The new “Best Defense: Survival” television series starts on The Outdoor Channel on July 1st. The series is hosted by Michael Bane and features Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) in short segments of each of the 10 episodes, covering disaster preparedness. The details that Mike Williamson will cover are water, food, economic preparation and communication–before a disaster, while evacuating from a disaster area, and during long-term crises. Be sure to watch this very informative and useful show!


Reader Survey: What Are Your Favorite Preparedness and Self-Sufficiency Books?

I am seeking input from SurvivalBlog readers: What are your favorite non-fiction books that relate to Preparedness, Self-Sufficiency, and Practical Skills? Just e-mail me a list of your top five book titles, with the authors’ names. Oh, and if any of them are obscure or likely out of print, then please include the publisher’s name, city, and year of publication. I plan to post the results of the survey in the blog, in roughly 10 days. Thanks!


Letter Re: Avoiding Influenza When Traveling Overseas

James, My work forces me to travel frequently – 80 to 90% of the time. And it’s not to fun places like Miami or Rio but rather third world locales (just coming back from a swing through the ‘stans – Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan — where I have a large telecommunications project). As such I get exposed to every imaginable sort of illness. I finally found a doctor I could work with when he started to ask where I had been lately rather than what the symptoms were. As such I have a larger than normal medical kit …


Letter Re: Medical Corps Offering a Field Dentistry Class in August

Jim: I thought that SurvivalBlog readers might be interested in a Dental class being conducted by Dr. Loomis (DDS) in Tennessee. Tom Loomis has been teaching at our classes for almost as long as we have had the school. On August 14-15 he will be teaching a Field Dentistry class near his office in Tennessee. The student will get the unheard of chance to fill cavities, replace broken or missing crowns, extract teeth and use a high speed dental drill. The drill is the same type used in any dental office. Several years ago I asked him if he could …


Two Letters Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation

Jim: The figure [cited by “Feral Farmer”] of 100 square miles per hunter-gatherer can’t be correct. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles). So, at 100 square mile per hunter gatherer, would only support 95,400 natives. Considering that large chunks of the Arctic and desert are minimal in their resources, not to mention Greenland, this figure (100 sq mi) can’t be correct. Here are a couple of online references: Agricultural practices and policies for carbon sequestration in soil By John M. Kimble, Rattan Lal, Ronald F. Follett and, Food, Energy, and Society By David …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

CDC Eyes 600 Million Doses of Swine Flu Shots “Health officials said that a swine flu vaccination campaign could be only a few months away, and that as many as 60 million doses could be ready by September.” [JWR Adds: With the current rapid rate of mutation, one can only wonder about the efficacy of this “rush job” vaccine.] Oregon’s Second Swine Flu Death “The child was younger than 5 year old [and] had ‘no known underlying medical conditions and a two-day history of fever,’ and was not hospitalized, officials said.” Drug-Resistant Swine Flu Seen in Danish Patient The BBC …


Economics and Investing:

The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury are cooking the books! Read between the lines in this Wall Street Journal article: Is Foreign Demand as Solid as It Looks? (Thanks to GG for the link.) Once a nation’s treasury starts “creative accounting” and debt monetization, then the handwriting is on the wall. The death spiral for the US Dollar has already begun. It just won’t be obvious to everyone for another 6 to 12 months. That is when mass currency inflation will likely begin, and once it does, barring a miracle, there will be nothing that can stop it. F.G. …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A report on Field Day: Ham radio operators not yielding to future. (Thanks to KAF for the link.)    o o o Kevin A. mentioned: The Day that Guns Came to Church in Louisville    o o o North Korea Threatens to Shoot Down Japanese Spy Planes    o o o Switchblade law opponents cut in Hill fight (Thanks to GG for the link.)