Month: July 2018

A Weapons Systems Approach to Firearms and Training

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Being well-armed and trained is a cornerstone of preparedness. I’m writing this to reiterate and expand on a subject that I’ve briefly mentioned several times in the more than 12 years that SurvivalBlog has been published. This is the concept of a taking a Systems Approach to firearms and firearms training.  By this, I mean changing your entire mindset about simply “buying a gun.”  You are not just buying a gun. Rather, you are acquiring a weapons system, including logistics and training. Here is a thumbnail list to consider: The Firearm Itself Ammunition. (At least 1,000 rounds for each primary …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


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”. Migrant riots in Spain start up as they rush the Spain/Morocco border. Missing Safe Deposit Boxes Think your valuables are “safe” in a bank’s safety deposit box? Bank of America is in trouble because they have been drilling the locks on boxes and disposing of the contents. The law states that the bank has to make an effort to contact the owner before such action is taken, but in many cases there …




Guest Post: War on Americans, by Gary Christenson

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Wars benefit the political and financial elite. Most wars are on-going, whether they include formal Congressional declaration or military actions. The following wars will continue. Drugs. Poverty. Cash. Reality based statistics. Savers. Students. Purchasing power. Pensions. Real money. Accountability and honest accounting. Drugs. This war has cost the U.S. government over $1 trillion in direct costs. Check with your teen-aged children for the easy availability of illegal drugs to confirm its failure. Powerful forces want this war to continue – profits from drug sales and money laundering are huge. Poverty. The U.S. has fought this war for decades and made …


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 buying used, collectible guns. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: We’ll start of with this piece by Alasdair Macleod: Valuing Gold In A World Awash With Dollars o o o Gold Production In South Africa Continues To Collapse – Plummets 85% From Peak In …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“I will not knowingly initiate force. I am a self owner. Let the record show that I did not consent to be governed. I did not consent to any constitution. I did not consent to any president. I did not consent to any law. I did not consent to the police. Nor any tax. Nor any prohibition of anything. Nor any regulation or licensing of any kind.” – The Late Susan Callaway (aka Mama Liberty)


Preparedness Notes for Thursday – July 26, 2018

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On July 26th, 1931, a swarm of grasshoppers descended on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Already in the midst of a bad drought, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota suffered tremendously. The swarms was said to be so thick that it blocked out the sun and one could shovel the grasshoppers with a scoop. While America has not seen infestations on such a scale since then, North Africa and parts of the Middle East continue to experience them.


Defensive Handgun Training, by B.E.

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Before taking a defensive handgun training course recently, I posted on Facebook that we were taking our trailer to to an RV Park for the weekend. My wife would be with the kids and grandkids during the daytime while I attended an NRA Intermediate Training course. That all worked out great! “Gun Fighting” Training; No One Wants To Be In a Gun Fight For me, it was three days of focused “gun fighting” training. Don’t take that wrong. No one at that class, including the instructors and me for sure, ever want to be involved in a gun fight. Thoughts …


Letter: Question on the Size of Your Prepping Group

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Hugh, I recently came across a book called the 150-Strong: A Pathway To A Different Future written by a “Subsistence Engineer”– Rob O’Grady. The book author’s thesis is that there is a threshold in which human beings can maintain good relationships. I believe that this holds some importance in a post-collapse civilization. For example, in my military unit of less than 150 members, I am able to personally connect with every member. Rank becomes somewhat irrelevant. At times we are friends unified towards a common cause. Most of the times we speak to each other on a first name basis. Things …


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”. Heat and Drought Noting that today is the anniversary of one of the worst grasshopper invasions in the U.S. ever, reader H.L. sent in this article showing that the heat and drought conditions in the U.S. are similar to those that occurred in the 1930s. Weather patterns like this haven’t been this widespread since the dust bowl of the 1930s. Almost the entire Southwest is in drought conditions with many farmers reporting …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“It is a fact that throughout human history humans have attempted to enslave one another.  So long as one can compel someone to work in some fashion that does not reflect economic pressures you can profit from this, and some percentage of people will.  That person or organization will succeed on a profit basis where others who do not adopt that policy will fail.  This inevitably encourages such behavior until only those who engage in it remain in business! As such the only constraint on such behavior is laws that are actually enforced so that the cost of such behavior is higher than the benefit.” – Karl Denninger


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – July 25, 2018

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On this day in 1897, Jack London sailed for the Klondike. While in the Klondike, London began submitting stories to magazines. In 1900, his first collection of stories, The Son of the Wolf, was published. Three years later, his story The Call of the Wild made him famous around the country. London continued to write stories of adventure amid the harsh natural elements. During his 17-year career, he wrote 50 fiction and nonfiction books. He settled in northern California about 1911, having already written most of his best work. London, a heavy drinker, died in 1916.


Guest Article: Central Banks Are Using The Trade War To Hide Their Direct Influence On Stocks, by Brandon Smith

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There has been a lot of confusion lately in the mainstream economic media as well as in independent media circles as to the behavior of stock markets in the wake of the recently initiated global trade war. In particular, stocks suffered one of the longest runs of negative days in their history in June, only to then spike just after Donald Trump “officially” began trade war tariffs in July. The expectation by many was that the headlines would cause an immediate and continued downturn in equities markets, but this was not the case. Many analysts have been left bewildered. This …