Month: August 2011

Pat’s Product Reviews: Rossi Ranch Hand

I grew-up during the Golden Years of television – the 1950s and early 1960s. Many television programs produced during that time were westerns: The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, Bonanza, Wanted: Dead Or Alive, Wagon Train, Johnny Yuma, Gunsmoke, and many, many others. One of my favorite westerns was Wanted: Dead Or Alive starring the late Steve McQueen, who played a bounty hunter – going after bad guys for a reward. And, more often than not, Steve McQueen’s character “Josh Randall” was always side-tracked doing good deeds for folks. What made this program so interesting was the gun that “Josh …


Tetanus: A Nasty, Fascinating Bug, by Dr. Bob

Nearly everyone has heard of the famous “lockjaw”, but not everyone knows that the cause is tetanus infection.  Even fewer people have actually seen a case of tetanus, even in the medical circles it is a rare event in the U.S.  There are only 233 cases reported from 2001 to 2008–or 1/10,000,000.  Deaths are even more rare here in the States, and of those 233, 31 were fatalities.  Most deaths were people over 65, presumed to be less than optimally immunized.   There has only been one reported infant case in the U.S. in that time period, and that was …


Letter Re: A Source for Qiviut Socks

Several months ago a SurvivalBlog post recounted a man’s survival while iced-in in a remote area. He credited a life-saving cache left by a local property-owner with saving his life. Included in the cache was a pair of qiviut socks. After reading the article, the socks continued to fascinate me — as I am somewhat cold-blooded and even wear wool socks in summer. After much research, I decided to try a pair and searched the internet. I found one source, in Canada, that sells the socks (70% Qiviut, 20% Merino, 10% nylon) and ordered a pair. I’ve found the product …


Economics and Investing:

At The Daily Bell: Richard Maybury and Rick Rule on Why More War Is Likely, the Future of the US Dollar and Why Neither of Them Vote Another from The Daily Bell: Thomas Jacob on the New Swiss Gold Franc, Why the EU Is a Bad Idea and Why an IMF Managed Currency Would Be Tragic Arnaud de Borchgrave: Black swans galore: As U.S. superpower status fades, ‘Arab Spring’ gives way to global chaos. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.) Michael W. sent this: Tracking the money from stocks to gold.   Items from The Economatrix: Shoppers Lift Economy But …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I recently received a sample body armor carrier, AK magazine pouch, and an AK magazine, all made by U.S. PALM. To start, I must mention that all of their cataloged items are made in the USA. While the vast majority of their competitors have “gone cheap” and sourced most of their products overseas (primarily in mainland China), U.S. PALM’s management made the commendable decision to produce all of their gear here in the United States. That puts them up several notches, in my book. A couple of detailed reviews will follow in the blog at a later date, but for …



Notes from JWR:

Remember our Victory! We have not forgotten the sacrifices that were made in World War II. I hope that even the most recent generation can somehow relate to the fullness of the joy that was shared on August 14, 1945! — Today we present another entry for Round 36 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.) …


Prepping for Missionaries and Other Long-Term Foreign Worker, by Mission Mobilizer

The position of the Missionary or Long-term foreign worker is a bit unique, and certainly cannot be assumed to be similar either to a non-American prepper in his native home or to short-term traveler overseas. Those who travel overseas in the short term, need only to make sure that they are back home before any kind of crash and they can implement all of their plans as normally as they would have had they been at work when things began to go wrong. Those overseas for longer periods of time, stretching into years rather than days or weeks must plan …


Letter Re: Deal Hunting for Preparedness Items on eBay

Jim: The eBay online auction company has been around for many years and up until recently I had not been using it to get the incredible deals I should have been getting for years.  Much of the survival gear that a prepper needs is often highly durable and will last a life time, so buying them second hand on eBay is a wise choice. The first thing to consider is your List of Lists.  Consider what you need from reloading supplies, body armor, tactical gear, weapon accessories, clothing, or surplus goods.  Now make a list of key words that are …


Economics and Investing:

G.G. sent this: Bank in Kansas Becomes 64th Failure This Year Also from G.G.: Analysis: Fed low-rate promise seen as opening salvo for QE3 Carlos in the U.P. spotted an excellent article by Karl Denninger explaining how the fundamental issues in our economy such as derivatives and too much leverage are kept from coming to the light of day: Dispelling Popular Delusions: TARP And Balance Sheets J.B.G. suggested this news clip that illustrates the innate yet well-founded anxiety about the near future: Texans grab their guns as economy stalls Items from The Economatrix: Beijing Downgrades US Treasury From A+ To …


Odds ‘n Sods:

C.N. sent this: Government pays for empty flights to rural airports.    o o o Tam had some great commentary on the trend toward über-tactical training that is sacrificing safety: Big Boy Rules. (About 1:30 into the video that she found, things get just plain foolishly 360-degree suicidal –with copious and un-necessary friendlies downrange, et cetera.)    o o o “Apartment Dweller” suggested some clever commentary on choosing strong computer passwords.    o o o Wilson Solar Grill Stores the Sun’s Energy for Nighttime Fuel-Free Grilling. (Thanks to Drew for the link.)


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for [your] journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let …


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 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 Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) …


Foraging: How To Make Yourself Starvation Proof, by Mike F.

The following are some reasons for learning how to identify, harvest, and prepare a few wild plants for food: Crop failures might make foods too expensive to purchase, or scarce due to lack of production (if producers can’t afford to grow it, and manufactures can’t afford to process it you probably won’t find it on a shelf)– Lack of hunting/trapping wild game- you are not always going to bag a squirrel, or catch something fishing, coming back empty handed is going to happen sometimes. Deal with it- even setting out 10 snares you ‘might’ get something, but you might not. …


Letter Re: How To Butcher a Squirrel

James Wesley: With respect to the recent posting on squirrel processing, I suggest that anyone seeking squirrels for food, not sport, leave the guns at home.  Save the ammunition and preserve the silence.  Use of a 110 Connibear trap on the side of a tree is much more effective and surreptitious.  There are a lot of ways to set them, but the easiest is to place a couple of screws into the side of a tree about an inch apart and set the trap so that it clamps itself to the screws while remaining in the horizontal plane.  A bit …