Month: June 2017

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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As preppers work to make progress to achieve prepping goals, we took some actions this week too. The SurvivalBlog editors made plans earlier in the week and now reflect upon these. At this time of year, gardening is at the top of our lists. Below, the editors share what we each accomplished. Please write to us in the comments and tell us what you did this week to get your preps in place and to be ready. JWR Dear SurvivalBlog Readers, Well it was a busy, very warm, and humid week here at the Rawles Ranch. Because of the heat, …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Today’s focus is on Food Prep. Food Prep and Storage Reader T.J. sent in the link to this Canadian Prepper’s video on using the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer to produce long-term food that you can use as currency in SHTF. We’ve reviewed their machine before, and we have an update coming out next week on the long-term use of this machine. When you consider how expensive commercially-made freeze dried food is …


Editors’ Quote of the Day

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses. And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.” Numbers 8:1-4 (KJV)


Preparedness Notes for Friday – June 09, 2017

On June 9, 1954, Army counsel Joseph N. Welch confronted Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy during the Senate-Army Hearings over McCarthy’s attack on a member of Welch’s law firm, Frederick G. Fisher. Said Welch: “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” Of course, years later, when the relevent documents had been declassified, we find that McCarthy’s concerns were pretty much right on. o o o If you haven’t visited our Amazon store in a while, you should take a look. We’ve made many improvements and fixed the broken links. If you …


USMC Mountain Survival Course- Part 3, by E.T.

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Second Phase – Individual Survival in the USMC Mountain Survival Course (continued) I was on the third day of my individual isolation survival of the USMC Mountain Survival course. By mid-afternoon I had improved my fuel (wood) situation, improved my shelter and signaling for rescue, and boiled enough water to fill my plastic bladder and two Nalgene bottles. So I went scrounging for food. Food for Day Three I was five yards from a small running stream that provided just enough running water to scoop some out with a metal cup. Another 50 yards downhill from my shelter, the stream …


Economics & Investing for Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, and derivatives, and obscura. Today’s focus is on LNG. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the quirky “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor): Precious Metals: First of all, let’s look at an essay at Silver Doctors. The Sun Rises on the Precious Metals Sector – Clive Maund Commodities Economics (LNG): Next, over at OilPrice.com: America’s Unstoppable LNG Boom.  JWR’s Comment:  The expansion of the piped …


Letter Re: Storage Food

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Just this past year, I’ve discovered what a good storage candidate sweet potatoes are. I’m in the south, near Austin Texas and find that “Irish” potatoes do not keep well, a few months, and can not be reliably used as seed stock. Sweet potatoes seem much better. They will keep at least 8 months, probably much longer. And they reliably produce plantable “slips”. Nutrition is said to be very good, probably better than white potatoes. Up in Idaho, your mileage will almost certainly vary. I offer this as a suggestion to whoever wants to do a more extensive write up. …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day

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“Whenever someone must buy a license or pay a fee to exercise a right, then it is something less than a right. It is in fact a mere privilege, subject to the whim of petty bureaucrats. Fundamental rights are not abstract tokens that are given or sold by other men. They are in fact primary liberties bestowed upon us by God, our maker. Rights are not substantially secured by asking, ‘Mother may I?’ of any government agency. Rights are more properly demanded or boldly seized and then conspicuously exercised regularly. This secures the liberties that have legitimately belonged to us …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday – June 08, 2017

On June 8th, 1776, Canadian Governor Sir Guy Carleton defeated American Patriot forces under John Sullivan. After taking heavy losses and the loss of General Richard Montgomery at Quebec, the Patriots were pursued by Governor Carleton. Halfway between Quebec and Montreal, at the Trois-Rivieres, the Patriots turned to fight. The Redcoats and German mercenaries killed 25, wounded 140, and captured 236, but Carleton allowed the rest of the 2,500-man force to complete their retreat. This battle changed the priorities of the Patriots, and Colonel Benedict Arnold wrote, “Let us quit and secure our own country before it is too late.”


USMC Mountain Survival Course- Part 2, by E.T.

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Rabbits On the evening of the first night of being in the instructional phase of our USMC Mountain Survival Course, we were handed a pet shop rabbit. The Marine Corps had bought a batch of larger farm raised rabbits, only to find out they carried the nasty Tularemia (rabbit fever). They discovered the disease after looking at the first rabbit’s liver, which was spotted white/yellow and/or swollen. They weren’t willing to accept the risk of disease transmission. So, they searched all the nearby pet shops and bought up all the pet bunnies they could find. Those bunnies were small and …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Today’s focus is again on Islam. Second Amendment Reader W.W. sent in his Christmas wish list for the year. St Louis Police are upgrading their hardware and will be selling 27 Thompson Sub machine Guns. These were purchased 100 years ago for $125, but they will be selling them for $22,000 each. One does have to wonder how much of that is due to ATF restrictions and how much is inflation. …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – June 07, 2017

On June 7th, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence. June 7th, 1967 is also the day of Jerusalem’s redemption from foreign governments in the Six Day War, placing it back under Israeli sovereign control after having been occupied for more than 2,500 years and in accord with the UN General Assembly’s vote in 1948. o o o Seed for Security is now including US Postal shipping on all products at no additional cost. Now is the time to stock up on fresh seeds and benefit from included shipping costs too!


USMC Mountain Survival Course- Part 1, by E.T.

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Preparations For Mountain Survival I spent June of 2014 in Bridgeport, California at the USMC’s School of Mountain Warfare undergoing the grand reopening of their Mountain Survival Course. Over the span of 13 days, I lost 31 pounds while in training. Here’s my story and lessons learned. I left an elevation of 3,300 feet in the mountains of North Carolina for Bridgeport, which is at 6,500 feet. The first morning we ran our PFT with less than 12 hours of acclimation to the new elevation. We were required to score a First Class PFT before continuing the course. We had …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR‘s Recommendations of the Week. This column is posted every Wednesday.  It covers various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers: Books: The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story Movies: Too Big To Fail (a 2011 Docudrama on the 2008 financial crisis, available through Amazon Prime) The Boy In The Striped Pajamas   Instructional Videos: Building a shed by yourself How to Field Strip and Clean Your AR-15 (Shooting USA)