The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We must be as stealthy as rats in the wainscoting of their society. It was easier in the old days, of course, and society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as old wooden buildings have more rats than concrete buildings. But there are rats in the building now as well. Now that society is all ferrocrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps in the joints. It takes a very smart rat indeed to find these openings. Only a stainless steel rat can be at home in this environment…” – Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – June 20, 2018

June 20th is the birthday of Audie L. Murphy. Born 1925. He died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. This is also the anniversary of the death of novelist Vince Flynn. (Born April 6, 1966, died June 19, 2013.) His death at age 47 was a loss to the literary world. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The …




A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 2, by X. Liberal & China Doll

As the title indicates, my wife and I are outlining our family’s move to the American Redoubt. In part 1, we explained why we made the move to the American Redoubt and now we are getting into the nuts and bolts of our process. Finances/Budget Milestone Cost – USD Property Search/Travel to locations $4,000.00 Land Purchase Classified Log Package Kit $37,000.00 Foundation $15,000.00 Subfloor $5,000.00 Gables /Roof $7,000.00 Roof foam/frame $8,000.00 Tin roof $4,000.00 Porches $1,500.00 Stain/log jam $3,500.00 Temp Stove/Chimney $3,200.00 Septic Tank/chambers $3,000.00 Propane Tank/Filled $4,000.00 Grading Property $3,500.00 Interior walls/Insulation $2,000.00 Plumbing $2,500.00 Electric $3,000.00 Vents/interior wall …




Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 global instability in the financial markets, triggered by higher interest rates. Precious Metals: Frank Holmes: Confirmed Interest Rate Hike Inspiring Bullishness In Gold Traders o o o Jim Wycoff: Silver Is Presently A Longer-Term, Value-Buying Opportunity   Forex: The Conundrum Of The US DOLLAR o …




JWR’s Recommendations of the Week

Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. This week the focus is on jerky and biltong. (See both the Books section and the Gear and Grub section.) Books (Jerky and Biltong): Make your own biltong and droewors o  o  o Jerky Everything: Foolproof and Flavorful Recipes for Beef, Pork, Poultry, Game, Fish, Fruit, and Even Vegetables (Countryman Know How) o  o  o Long Range Precision Rifle. Note: Sadly, Paladin Press went out of business last year, so these books are getting scarce. o  o  o Blog reader E.E. suggested this: …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The liberties of our Country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have receiv’d them as a fair Inheritance from our worthy Ancestors: They purchas’d them for us with toil and danger and expence of treasure and blood; and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle; or be cheated out of …




Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – June 19, 2018

June 19, 1834 was the birthday of Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon, who died 31 January 1892. He was a noted  British Particular Baptist preacher. His fine sermons are often quoted by modern preachers who share Reformed theology. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 77 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course …




A Memoir On One Family’s Move To The American Redoubt- Part 1, by X. Liberal & China Doll

Epigraph, Genesis “And God said unto Noah, ‘The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms though shalt make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without pitch.’” – Genesis 13:13-14 KJV Background Let us give you a little background about ourselves. X. Liberal is a man with athletic build who played ice hockey in college, where he was educated with a master’s degree in accounting, and is a CPA. X. Liberal’s …




SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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 seventh anniversary of the founding of Radio Free Redoubt.   Region-Wide (Radio Free Redoubt): We’ll start with a recommendation for an inspiring monologue from John Jacob Schmidt: Radio Free Redoubt 7 Year Anniversary Episode (#18-20). Congratulations to John Jacob Schmidt!  His yeoman service as a broadcaster has helped catapult the American Redoubt Movement onto the national …




The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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”. Wait till you see the AR in .338 Lapua Magnum! Armed and Dangerous Eric Raymond, of the Armed & Dangerous blog, penned a quite plausible followup to JWR’s recent essay on The Mathematics of Countering Tyranny. The author starts with the numbers JWR derived and uses them to further calculate the difficulties the United States government would have in disarming the American gun owner. From a gun rights perspective, the numbers are …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.  It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man’s genetic lineage—the notion that a man’s intellectual and characterological traits are produced and transmitted by his internal body chemistry.  Which means, in practice, that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors. Racism claims that the content of a man’s mind (not his cognitive apparatus, but its content) is inherited; that a man’s convictions, values and character are determined before …







Kershaw Atmos Folder, by Pat Cascio

It’s a strange name for a folding knife, but we decided to check this one out and we’re glad we did! The Kershaw Atmos is worth a close look. As long-time SurvivalBlog.com readers know, I prefer longer blades on my knife, and I really like a folder with a 3.75-inch blade. They just seem to fit my hand better and can do more chores, well, better! However, I’m not a knife snob, and just because a folding knife has a blade less than my desired 3.75 inches doesn’t mean I won’t check it out. Enter the Kershaw Knives Atmos. A …







Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 investing in custom knives. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: David Lin: Silver Not Done Rallying; Look For 8% Upside From Current Levels o  o  o Gold price retreats on strong dollar, supported by trade tension o  o  o This article that was posted …