Year: 2011

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 …



Notes from JWR:

Starting Sunday June 5th, the new Radio Free Redoubt podcast will begin airing weekly. Please note that this is not my own podcast (so the views expressed do not necessarily reflect my own), but the folks who produce it seem sincere and level-headed. The podcast should provide a great forum for exchanging ideas–both for folks who already live in the American Redoubt, and for those that plan to relocate there. — Between now and mid-July, I’m wrapping up the writing of the second sequel to my novel “Patriots“. The already-completed first sequel (“Survivors”) is scheduled for release in October of …


Understanding Metric and Inch Bore Dimensions

I often have blog readers and consulting clients send me questions about firearms calibers. They are often confused, but this not always their fault. It is a confusing, complex, and often arcane topic. A lot of the facts that you will find are mere trivia, but since safety is an issue–(we mustn’t fire the incorrect ammo in our guns!)–it is important to study. To begin: Metric caliber designations are usually written with an “x” in the middle to distinguish the bore diameter and case length. For example, the 6.5×55 designation tells us that the cartridge uses a 6.5 mm bullet, …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Blackhawk Nightedge Knife

As I’ve mentioned numerous times in my knife articles, I like big knives. Big knives can accomplish more tasks than smaller knives can. And, in the case of using a fixed blade knife for survival purposes or military applications, I think bigger knives shine! However, keep in mind that, no single knife can accomplish all the tasks you may need a blade for. That’s why I carry several knives, as well as having fixed blade knives with long blades, as well as shorter blades. There is no “do it all” knife – you need several. If you are looking at …


Two Letters Re: Keeping Your Communications Private

Sir: After reading the recent SurvivalBlog article on “Keeping Your Communications Private” I went on eBay to see an endless variety of Flash drives that are very small and very camouflaged as to what they are. My wife and I will be going on a cruise later in the year and one of the cruise line’s suggestion is a flash drive to store copies of important documents.   I already do this for my BOB but I wanted something that we could carry that does not look like a flash drive. There were several options available at varying prices. I …


Economics and Investing:

You may recall Buckeye, Arizona, as the home of a couple of the fictional characters in my novel “Patriots“. (They are also featured in the sequel, “Survivors”, that will be released in October.) Here is a video that shows a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house built in 2006 currently on the market in Buckeye. Its price has dropped from $184,900 to just $39,900. Yikes! Prepare for More Money Printing: Analyst Reader G.P. suggested this from The Telegraph: The Bank of England’s astonishing escape from the financial crisis. SurvivalBlog’s G.G. sent this: Time To Celebrate The Recovery: Food Stamp Usage Hits Fresh Record …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Readers in Western Montana, northern Idaho and southern Alberta will find this of interest: There is a Flathead Preparedness Expo scheduled for Saturday, June 18, 2011, in Kalispell, Montana. Guest speakers will include Pastor Chuck Baldwin, Sheriff Richard Mack, and Stewart Rhodes.    o o o A reminder that your original preparedness articles and videos (including all that you send to SurvivalBlog for posting) are eligible for Safecastle’s “Freedom Awards” contest, with $12,000 worth of prizes. SurvivalBlog’s editors are pleased to participate in the judging in this contest.    o o o Apparently this bad guy missed seeing the movie …



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 …


Keeping Your Communications Private, by F.J.B.

In this age of continuing disregard for an individual’s privacy, it can be difficult to keep your communications private. Warrant-less phone taps, postal service mail tracking, RF scanners,  and random roadside searches will appear fairly tame once the strip-searches start at the mall. Of course, this is their goal but even non-government snoopers are out there scanning your ID, listening to your phone calls, and trying to hack into your email. Going somewhere? Who knows your schedule? Did someone overhear your plans? How can you know? What has happened to our right to privacy? Many people today are so beaten …