Notes for Thursday – September 24, 2015

On this day in 1493 AD, Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) set sail with 17 ships on his second voyage to the Americas. Also on this date in 1775,
Ethan Allen was captured by the British.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest ^[1]. The $10,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three
   day course (a $1,195 value),
2. 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,
3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools, and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 MagPul PMAG 30 round magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt. (An equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions.),
5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
6. A Model 120 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $340 value),
7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
8. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
9. TexasGIBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, and
10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
3. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
4. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
5. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
6. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
7. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
8. TexasGIBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
9. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
10. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 Lifestraws (a $200 value).

Third Prize:

1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord ^[2] (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 60 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail ^[3] us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.