Notes for Monday – March 30, 2015

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and a District of Columbia police officer. Known for his quips and unaware of the injury to others at the scene, President Reagan walked into the hospital, despite his wound, and was heard telling his wife, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”




Scot’s Product Review: Horseshoe Leather Products

Horseshoe Leather Products http://www.holsters.org/index.htm isn’t one of the best known holster makers, but that doesn’t really matter. What is important is that it is one of the best holster makers on the planet. Horseshoe holsters are of impeccable quality and superbly designed for the concealed carry of handguns. One of the keys to this high level of quality is that Horseshoe is a one man shop and each holster is handmade for each customer by Horseshoe’s owner, Andy Arratoonian. If he made it, it bears the distinctive Horseshoe symbol he hand stamps on every item. The quality of Arratoonian’s work …




Pat Cascio’s Review: Magnum Research, Desert Eagle 1911s Siblings

Whenever anyone finds out that I’m a gun/knife/outdoor writer, the first question out of their mouth is “What’s your favorite gun…?” Quite often, when I’m hanging out at the local gun shop, a customer will ask about a certain handgun, and one of the sales guys will point them to me, and I get this same question over and over again “What’s your favorite handgun?” I don’t try to side-step the question, but it’s just impossible to answer, for many reasons. If I’m going out big game hunting with a handgun, I’ll probably grab a revolver in .44 Magnum. If …




Recipe of the Week: 5 Can Soup, by A.T.

My friends and family seem to like this soup, which is very pantry friendly. Ingredients: 1 can Progresso minestrone soup 1 can corn, undrained 1 can mixed vegetables, undrained 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed Directions: Combine and heat. This is a very thick soup. If you want it thinner, add a can of V8 juice. If you want meat, add a can of canned chicken, drained and shredded. Serve as soup or over rice or mashed potatoes. o o o Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? …




Letter Re: Choices, Choices, Choices

HJL, I would like to weigh in on the article of: Choices, Choices, Choices – Part 1, by K.C. First thing I want to mention is by no way am I an expert in the field of firearms and all this is only my opinion and what I believe will work for me. A firearm is a tool; many companies make tools, and people have their particular choices in what they like. For power tools, some like Milwaukee, Black & Decker, Ryobi, and so forth. For mechanics tools, some like Sears Craftsman, Snap-on, Kolbalt, and others. What it all boils …




Economics and Investing:

U.S. Oil Glut Story Grossly Exaggerated o o o 3 Very Real Reasons Why Lower Oil Prices Could Be The Catalyst For World War III o o o Central Banks Warn: Liquidity May Evaporate When Investors Finally Remove Blindfolds o o o Largest for-profit sees half of its students vanish in last five years: For-profits under fire as value comes into question.




Odds ‘n Sods:

Fitch Continues the Downgrade Parade Reduces Greece to Junk Status Down to CCC o o o Big elections coming up in Mexico. – H.L. o o o With the questionable “Jade Helm 15” operation on the near horizon, some SurvivalBlog readers are reckoning back to Ft Lauderdale’s operation last year to see what to expect: Rounding people up exercise with Blackhawks o o o Ontario Teacher Disciplined for Criticizing Child Procurement Program . – T.P. o o o Rate of Illegal Immigrant Males in Workforce 12 Percent Higher Than US-Born Males. – B.B.










March In Precious Metals, by Everett Millman of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and silver and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. Gold trickled down to yearly lows during the first half of the month before reversing direction and rallying back above $1,200/oz. The same was true for spot silver, which was stuck around $15.50/oz by mid-month before climbing back above $17/oz. The Platinum Group Metals (platinum and palladium) fared worse, as each fell through support early in the month and …




Letter: Handy Well Pump

HJL, I have seen some of the recent discussions pertaining to manual hand pumps for wells. I have wanted to add one to our preps for a while but have held back because it seemed as though they all cost around $1500. Our well is around 50′-60′ deep. I recently came across another pump option called a Handy Well Pump (model HWP-L) for considerably less. I am interested whether any other readers have experience and can offer insight on this pump option? Thanks in advance – Tired-n-Dusty HJL responds: Just looking at the build of the unit, it appears that …




Economics and Investing:

Santelli Stunned As Janet Yellen Admits “Cash Is Not A Store Of Value”. – B.B. o o o The Next Currency Set to Fail o o o Gold Effect on Mining & Shale Wasteland o o o CENTRAL BANKS LOSING CONTROL: Are The Seeds Of A Global Depression Sprouting? o o o Fears of a new global crash as debts and dollar’s value rise . – G.P. o o o Andorra on the brink of Europe’s next banking crisis. – G.G.




Odds ‘n Sods:

America may need to get their waders on; they may be in for some deep Schumer. Chuck Schumer Formally Enters Race To Succeed Harry Reid As Senate Dem Leader.. . – RBS o o o Shop Class as Soulcraft: A Review by Bill Buppert. – RBS o o o New York State Assembly Passes Bill Which Would Allow 3rd Trimester Babies to Be Killed With Shot of Poison to Heart. – D.S. HJL adds: It is unlikely to become law, but it’s an indicator of the degradation of the morality of our country. o o o GERMAN NEWS REPORT: Co-Pilot …







Notes for Saturday – March 28, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 57 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), 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, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with …