Day: June 4, 2011

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo , and …


Survival Electronics, by M.B. Ham

As an electronics and computer engineer for the past 30 years my personal skill sets are of limited but interesting value after TEOTWAWKI. Given that there may be very limited electricity, and/or the fact that CME/EMP may destroy most electronics devices, the need for these skills may be rare. I feel that these skills will be mostly useless unless you are part of a sustainable group of retreatists that have electricity and devices that use it. I plan to be part of such a group, and so I am planning ahead to make sure that my skills can be applied …


Initial Experience With a Slide Fire AR Stock

Courtesy of one of my consulting clients, I recently had the opportunity to shoot more than 120 rounds through an AR-15 equipped with an SSAR-15 SlideFire Solutions stock. These are legal “bump fire” stocks that slide 1/2-inch, allowing you to very rapidly re-press the trigger, under recoil. The effect sounds just like full auto. It takes a few minutes to get accustomed to controlling the length of bursts. The trick is using a slight forward pressure on the foregrip. As with full auto, don’t expect much accuracy after the second shot in a burst. (I was able to keep two …


Letter Re: Tips on Buying Physical Silver Locally

JWR, Thank you for your site, I read it daily. I would like to point out that local coin auctions are another good place to pick up some silver. I came across an ad in the classified section of the local paper for a coin auction that was being held at one of our local auction houses. They had a web site that listed all of the coins that were to be for auction that following weekend. There were over 500 lots of coins for auction that day. I picked up several 40% Ike dollars for $3-$5 less than what …


Economics and Investing:

Barry Ritholtz: FDIC Bank Failures Chart. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate “G.G.” for the link.) Chad S. sent a link for the few folks who feel that they don’t get enough gloom and doom from reading this column: DailyJobCuts.com. Items from The Economatrix: US Home Price Fall “Beats Great Depression Slide” Dreaded Double Dip In Housing Is Here Consumer Confidence Falls Unexpectedly In May The Brittle Financial American Middle Class


Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric C. sent this: Pickup runs on wood    o o o I just heard that Camping Survival just received a supply of Bridgford shelf-stable sandwiches. These were developed for the U.S. military, with a three year shelf life. Try some!    o o o Several readers sent this: Kevlar Bunker Provides Safe House for Tornado Survivor. JWR Adds: To my mind, there is no proper substitute for reinforced concrete.    o o o J.D.D. sent this article with video: Family Lives in 320-Square-Foot ‘Shotgun Shack’    o o o This guy really cranks them out! Volume Handloading Match Grade …