Odds ‘n Sods:

Scott G. mentioned this in The New York Times: The Preppers Next Door    o o o Here is a SHOT Show report: Gun Tote’n Mamas Concealed Carry Purses for Women    o o o Alan S. sent us the latest news from Oz: Floods cause Brisbane drinking water shortage. (Any family that does not own a high quality, high volume ceramic water filter is foolish!)    o o o H.L. forwarded this: Drought Seen Worsening in U.S. Plains and West Midwest




Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Gun registration does nothing… can do nothing… to curb gun violence. All it can do is tell you who the gun belonged to at some point in in the past, should you happen to find it dropped at the murder scene, next to the cooling body. At best it’s a placebo to the perpetually fearful, while at worst (and historically it’s nearly always been worst) it’s a prelude to confiscation.” – Tamara K. in her View From The Porch blog




Notes from JWR:

I’m pleased to report that the expanded SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 archive has been selling at a fast pace, both via digital download and on DVD. This new archive collection has expanded bonus material (a digital copy of my book Rawles on Retreats and Relocation–normally $28 in hard copy–12 Firearms Manuals, and 14 U.S. Military Manuals), an improved user interface (with the same look and feel of the SurvivalBlog web site), and of course one more year of the blog content. The digital download and DVD both include the archives in HTML (10,131 pages) and PDF (7,923 pages). The blog archive is …




Sugar and Spice Will Always Be Nice, by Vic in Iowa

Many of the things we love today, and take for granted, will probably be very hard to come by, if things fall apart. This long list certainly includes condiments. You may be ready to grow your own food, and purify your own water. I hope you are. And you hopefully have tons of wheat and rye and rice and beans packed away, to fall back on while you learn to produce all the food you need. (I figure it may take me 3 years to get self-sufficient, and have stocked up accordingly.) But even if your pantry is stocked deep, …




Unarmed Defense in the Apocalypse, by Tony C.

Many people today are preparing for TEOTWAWKI in various ways. Much discussion and planning for a host of apocalyptic scenarios is underway and justifiably so as many factors converge to seemingly plunge the world into a looming sense of impending doom. We all hope for the best but must prepare for the worst in hopes of survival for ourselves and our families. Self defense is a cornerstone of prepping for the seemingly inevitable collapse of our modern societies. The procurement and use of firearms is the obvious and most effective means of protecting ourselves and our emergency supplies which we …




Letter Re: Canadian Pennies No Longer Issued After February 4th

Mr. Rawles, The window is closing to pick up Canadian pennies is quickly closing. The Royal Canadian Mint will no longer ship pennies to banks on February 4, 2013 and at the same time, banks will no longer “sell” pennies to their customers.  I did a run on about a dozen banks today, and some already out right refused to sell them to me. It’s worth noting that unlike the American government who debased their pennies in 1982,  the Canadian government fully debased the Canadian from 95% copper to copper washed zinc in 1996, so a circulated box of Canadian …




Letter Re: Another Recommendation for Todd Savage

Greetings from the American Redoubt!   Thank you for the time and expertise that you put into your blog site.  Like many, we consider your web site, books, and archived blogs on DVD to be a critical component to our preparedness planning.   We appreciate the articles that you and others write; they are very educational and  help us focus our time and other resources in the right directions.  Because of this education, we made the decision that it was time to move to the American Redoubt, relocating from a very congested Southeastern city.  The ads on the right side of your …




News From The American Redoubt:

Yakima County sheriff says he opposes assault weapon ban    o o o A Washington State Republican in effect says: “If it is good for the Goose…” Rep. Joel Kretz introduces wolf relocation legislation. (Thanks to T.C. for the link.)    o o o I’ve been told that Bitterroot Valley Ammunition & Components (in Stevensville, Montana) has expanded again, and is still doing a tremendous volume of manufacturing, making cartridges all the way up to .50 Browning.    o o o Idaho lawmaker wants to mandate cursive handwriting    o o o The NRA has warned: “Last week, a group …




Economics and Investing:

You read about this first in SurvivalBlog: Shale gas boom now visible from space The Real Story Of How ‘Untouchable’ Wall Street Execs Avoided Prosecution. (Thanks to Jim W. for the link.) Scam complete: the US government takes a page from Diocletian’s book… Items from The Economatrix: Gold Bank Run Accelerating In Europe Royal Canadian Mint Rationing Silver Coins Britain’s Economy Flirts With Triple-Digit Recession




Odds ‘n Sods:

Here at the Rawles Ranch we’ve kept busy the last couple of days assembling Kushnapup bullpup stocks for two of our Saiga 12 shotguns. The manufacturer had a two year delay from the original pre-sales announcement, but they appear to have been worth the wait. For “host” guns, we had already slightly modified two Saigas with Galil-style charging handles. The Gun Control Act of 1968 dictates a minimum barrel length of 18 inches for shotguns and 16 inches for rifles .There is also a minimum overall length requirement of 26 inches, for either. We opted to leave our barrels at …




Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"What is the meaning of a gold standard and a redeemable currency?  It represents integrity.  It insures the people’s control over the government’s use of the public purse.  It is the best guarantee against the socialization of a nation.  It enables a people to keep the government and banks in check.  It prevents currency expansion from getting ever farther out of bounds until it becomes worthless.  It tends to force standards of honesty on government and bank officials.  It is the symbol of a free society and an honorable government.  It is a necessary prerequisite to economic health.  It is …







Nunc Pro Tunc: The Coming Day of Burn Barrels and Blessings

This is a standing invitation to my fellow Americans: If congress ever enacts a law mandating the registration and/or a production ban of detachable magazine semiautomatic rifles then you are hereby invited to the town square of your local community. There, burn barrels will be set up and we will publicly burn Form 4473s, FFL Bound Books, state and local registration records, and the sales receipts for every firearm in the United States. On that same day, FFL holders and public officials holding electronic firearms records will simultaneously erase those records, permanently and irretrievably. (Using special file erasure software such …




Harry’s Book Review: Rora

Book Title: Rora Author: James Byron Huggins Copyright Date: 2001, 2007 Bronze Bow Edition Publisher: Bronze Bow Publishing, LLC ISBN: 978-1-932458-51-0 Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? No Suitable for children? Teens and up Rora is a work of historical fiction revolving around the defense led by Joshua Gianavel in an effort to save his people, the Waldenses, who lived in the Rora valley in 1655. This is a story of religious persecution, but it requires no great leap of imagination to see how this relates to our own civil rights today. At its core, this is a story about …




Pat’s Product Review: Ruger SR22 Pistol

If you’re serious about survival, you have to have some type of .22 Long Rifle (LR) firearm in your battery. Some will argue against the effectiveness of a .22 LR but I’m not one of them. You can take all manner of small game and fowl, with a well-placed shot from a .22 LR handgun or rifle. And, in a pinch, it will serve as a self-defense weapon as well. No, I’m not advocating the .22 LR as your one and only self-defense firearm, but it will sure do in a pinch, and make the bad guys wish they were …