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 E.) …




Making Good Use of the Hissing Well, by R.J.

When shopping for our retreat property a few years ago our family was looking for something that could sustain several families besides our own and have as many features common to a retreat that most readers would recognize as desirable for TEOTWAWKI.  Water, security, location, population, soil, and local wildlife (four and two legged) were all things we were concerned with.  When we came across our current retreat property we were shown what was supposed to be a 400 foot deep, 10 Gallon Per Minute (GPM) well.  Luckily we were serious and bought a new pump and had a well …




Pat’s Product Review: Buffalo Bore Ammunition

I like it, when an ammo maker isn’t afraid to experiment, or push the envelop a bit, especially in handgun calibers. Let’s face it, given a choice, when things go bad, it’s better to have some kind of .223 Remington, 7.62×39 or .308 Winchester rifle in your hands. However, that’s not always possible, so we are “stuck” carrying some kind of handgun, and it’s usually carried concealed, for self-defense purposes. If I can get a little boost in power from my handguns, then I’m certainly going to take a close look at doing so. SurvivalBlog readers have seen me mention …




Letter Re: The Rude Awakening of a Spider Bite

Mr Rawles: Last week I dropped off to sleep and in the night with my legs uncovered due to the room being kind of warm. Some time during the night I was bitten by what was most likely a spider. as I awoke the next morning I started my regular work day. The initial bite was what I considered nothing more then an annoyance. I figured a mosquito might have got me, maybe a spider. I never really had a bad spider bite before. So I was sure it was just something got me, and it was something really itchy …




Economics and Investing:

Scooby Doo say: “Rutt-row!”: Moody’s Downgrades Portugal to Ba2 From Baa1, Outlook Negative John T. suggested this by Peter Schiff: The rise of the barter economy Tyler Durden reports at Zero Hedge: Planned Job Cuts Increase by 12% in June, Second Sequential Increase. Here is a quote: “Forget new job formation. According to the just released Challenger jobs report, job destruction is starting to be an issue again, after the June report disclosed that “the number of planned job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers increased by 4,297 or 11.6 percent to 41,432 in June.” Europe takes another step closer to …




Odds ‘n Sods:

A few folks have written to ask me if I was “the anonymous expert” in the recent National Geographic “Doomsday Preppers” documentary. I was approached by the producers when they were planning the project last year, to be a “subject matter expert”. I didn’t have a good feeling about the project, so I passed. I’m now glad that I did. Their anti-prepper bias was apparent. Through some careful editing and voice-overs, the producers made the subjects of the documentary appear to be mentally imbalanced. For the record: I was not their anonymous expert!    o o o F.G. sent this: …