Month: April 2018

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”. We have finally learned why Venezuela is starving DHS Surveillance DHS, who has consistently denied, or at least refused comment, has finally admitted that contentious surveillance technology is used by the government. The DHS acknowledged in a letter to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon that it found unauthorized cell site simulators (stingrays) in Washington DC. Details about who is operating and using them are not included in the report, but it also …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Contemplate the entire ‘bump stock’ thing folks.  These were sold as legal accessories for years.  Millions of dollars changed hands for them, people were employed and now they’re in the hands of individuals.  A formal legal ruling was issued by the BATFE that these were legal accessories; the manufacturers and buyers didn’t assume, they asked for and obtained a written declaration that these devices not only complied with the law they didn’t require any sort of labeling, serialization or other form of control (such as a background check) as legally they were nothing more than a piece of plastic. The government is, of course, entitled to be wrong and repair that error which is …



The Slippery Slope: Proposed ATF Rule Redefining “Machinegun”

The ATF recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on bumpfire stocks, redefining them as “machineguns.”  This NPRM is worse than I had anticipated  This is in part because the new rule has no Grandfather Clause. By the ATF’s own estimates there are more than 350,000 American bumpfire stocks (worth about $96 million) already in circulation. The proposed rule would declare these all contraband unregistered machineguns, with no compensation to their owners, and no method provided to pay the $200 tax to register them. (Because of the FOPA Hughes Amendment machinegun freeze of 1986.) Therefore, owners would be required …


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, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on currency scams.  (See the Forex section.) Forex (Currency Scams): In recent months I’ve had several SurvivalBlog readers contact me to mention “investing” in Iraqi Dinars (IQD).  Spurred on by the Internet rumor mill, they are hoping for a huge return on investment, in the event …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on storage organization. (See the Gear section.) Books: The much-awaited new book by Claire Wolfe and Kit Perez titled Basics of Resistance will be released (appropriately) on April 19th. As of April 4th, 2018, the print-on-demand paperback edition is now available for ordering on Amazon.com. There will also be a Kindle book, now available at a special pre-order price of just 99 cents. The Kindle release day will be April 19th. I predict that this book will be …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – April 03, 2018

This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. o o o Seed for Security, LLC is having a Special Anniversary Sale. Please join them in celebrating 10 years of their growing business! In appreciation of all their loyal customers they are now offering 15% of ALL of their products. This offer is for …


Round 75 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

We’ve come to the end of Round 75 and these are the editors picks for the winners. If you are one of these winners, please make sure you have sent in your UPS and USPS addresses to SurvivalBlog so that the prizes can be shipped. Any article submitted but not published will be automatically rolled over to Round 75 of the contest.   First Prize: First prize goes to J.M. for “Perspectives on Patrolling-Part 1”, “Part 2”, “Part 3”, “Part 4”, and “Part 5”, published on March 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th, 2018. He will receive the following prizes: …


Rights vs Duties, by A Modern Stoic

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“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” – 2 Timothy 4:3, the Bible, New International Version “Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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Here is SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt. This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. We also mention companies of interest to preppers that are located in the region. The emphasis this week is on the Rajneesh Movement of the 1980s, headquartered near Antelope, Oregon. (See the Eastern Oregon section.) Idaho At The Wall Street Journal: Why Pay in Idaho Is Rising at the Fastest Rate in the Nation o o o SurvivalBlog readers may not be aware that the same family that owns Naturally Cozy (one of our long time writing …


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”. The expected South Africa violence is starting. London’s Murder Rate For the first time in over a century, London’s murder rate has overtaken New York City’s. The rise in murders is mostly due to an upswing in knife attacks. While both cities have severe gun control (and have had it for a very long time), it is interesting to note that New York’s is a local ban while London’s is a nation-wide …




Zero Tolerance 0920, by Pat Cascio

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  If you want a custom-quality, harsh-use knife, then the ZT0920 that is under review today, should catch your attention. It is made by Zero Tolerance. Zero Tolerance Knives Zero Tolerance (ZT) knives is a division of Kershaw Knives, and they’re made right here in Oregon in the same plant where many Kershaw products are manufactured. Every ZT knife is only made in America. They claim their knives are over-built, and I’m sure not going to argue with ZT about this. We are talking about custom-quality knives that are every bit as well-made as any custom knives I’ve seen. I …