Day: October 29, 2013

Notes from JWR:

Today is the first anniversary Superstorm Sandy, which caused an estimated $50 Billion in damage and resultant lost productivity. I’m hopeful that Americans learned something about infrastructure fragility from that event, and have been stocking up, teaming up , and training up, accordingly. — This is the birthday of Vermont Garrison, a legendary fighter pilot who fought in three wars: WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died February 14, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho. — It is also the birthday of famed World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin (Born 1921, died January 22, 2003.) Oh, and …


Using Auctions, Goodwill and Second Hand Stores to Stockpile Prepping Supplies at Bargain Prices, by Chris M.

I was unexpectedly laid off two years ago.  Although I eventually landed another position after months of searching, losing my job was perhaps the most humbling and painful experience I’ve been through in recent years.   Truth be told, I was also bitter.  The frustrations of hunting for a new job in a tough market, starting up a sideline family business and wondering where in the world my family of six will end up really began to take their toll.  I sorely needed a distraction and an excuse get out of the house! On a whim, I started going to auctions. …


Orange Jeep Dad’s House Fire Tragedy: How You Can Help

Many SurvivalBlog readers are familiar with the Orange Jeep Dad (OJD) blog. It is a great blog written by an X-ray technician prepper with a wife and six daughters. For more than two years, he’s been earnestly striving to live self-sufficiently. Two days ago, he posted about the tragedy of his house burning down. And today, he posted a follow-up. As I mentioned before, I doubt that his renter’s insurance will cover all of their losses, especially for things like storage food and ammo. In a recent e-mail, OJD mentioned these details: “For now, I for sure lost my Glock …


Letter Re: The Blackout Docudrama

Good Morning, Mr. Rawles: After watching part of last night’s Blackout Docudrama on National Geographic. I turned the television off in total disgust and went to bed.  What insidious propaganda!  I could not help but notice that the “prepper” father was a gun toting, autocratic bully who bossed everyone and refused to act humanely by sharing all his wealth with those less fortunate or less willing to be responsible for themselves?  How interesting. And of course, the compassionate one was the young and hip boyfriend of the prepper’s daughter.  He hadn’t prepared himself but he was more than happy to …


News From The American Redoubt:

I heard that Moscow Hide and Fur (in Moscow, Idaho), is still buying raw furs. I started doing business with them back in the early 1990s–back when they only had just a few employees and only three chest freezers to hold incoming furs.    o o o Arming teachers idea sparks recall effort. Note that this is transpiring in Sandpoint, Idaho, which is a resort town with a high percentage of neolocal statist yuppies from the Left Coast. So we can consider this anomalous for what is otherwise quite conservative north Idaho.    o o o B.B. sent: Number of …



Odds ‘n Sods:

While supplies last, APEX Gun Parts in Colorado is a having a $44 special on Polish surplus 26.5mm flare pistols. Note that these are inexpensive enough to consider using 2 or 3 of them around your retreat (post-TEOTWAWKI), as trip-wire actuated intrusion detection signal devices. Take note of the notch in the trigger, which makes them well-suited for rigging a trip wire. A mousetrap should provide sufficient force for the trigger pull. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just use power screws to attach the flare gun and mouse trap to a scrap of 2×4, lag screw the contraption …