Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – August 21, 2018

In 1986, Lake Nyos in Cameroon  erupted with an estimated billion cubic yards of carbon dioxide gas. The gas had apparently been accumulating in the crater lake, held down by the weight of the water. When it finally erupted, the gas cloud smothered and killed every living animal, including insects, in its path until it dissipated. Outsiders learned of the disaster when they approached the villages and found animal and human bodies on the ground. The best estimate is that 1,700 people and thousands of cattle died.




The Family Stockpiles: Everything in Its Place and a Place for Everything

I’ve been a prepper now for more than 40 years. The good news is that there hasn’t been a major nationwide crisis, and that means that I’ve only had to break out my gear for localized/minor emergencies and family crises. And the food that we’ve gardened and bought in bulk has meant that we’ve enjoyed substantially lower food costs. (Not to mention less processed food additives.) But the bad news is that I own a home that is now almost too well stocked. First, some background on our situation: The Rawles Ranch is comfortably remote. It is nearly a 20 …




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 Eastern Oregon Tactical in Hermiston, Oregon. (See the Eastern Oregon section.)   Idaho The Inland Northwest Freedom Fest 2018 will be held on Friday, September 14th from 5 PM to 9PM. This will be at the Barn Again building, at 464138 US 95, Cocolalla, Idaho. (To clarify: The Barn Again building is south of the big Encoder …




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”. Ghost Gunner Defense Distributed won a settlement from the US Department of State to publish their gun blueprints online in July. This was a landmark victory for both the First and the Second Amendments. Now 21 states have file suit against them through four venues. After fighting the State Department for five years, their legal funds need help. Cody Wilson is asking for support to help manage all of these new lawsuits …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“How to start on my adventure—how to become a forester—was not so simple. There were no schools of Forestry in America. … Whoever turned his mind toward Forestry in those days thought little about the forest itself and more about its influences, and about its influence on rainfall first of all. So I took a course in meteorology, which has to do with weather and climate. and another in botany, which has to do with the vegetable kingdom—trees are unquestionably vegetable. And another in geology, for forests grow out of the earth. Also I took a course in astronomy, for …




Preparedness Notes for Monday – August 20, 2018

20 August 1935 The birthday of former Congressman Ron Paul. He recently retired from congress. Dr. Paul is to be commended for fighting the good fight for many years. o o o Redoubt Surplus & Tactical in Dalton Gardens, Idaho has announced a big inventory consolidation sale with deep price reductions. This will include all of their electronics including a tube testers, two oscilloscopes, and a variety of military radios. They are selling these for just pennies on the Dollar. Stop by their store and check it out! Some items are also available via mail order.




Cold Steel SR1 Folding Tanto, by Pat Cascio

20 August 1935 The birthday of former Congressman Ron Paul. He recently retired from congress. Dr. Paul is to be commended for fighting the good fight for many years. Cold Steel SR1 Folding Tanto, by Pat Cascio Under review in this article is one of the most awesome folding knives I’ve ever tested. It isn’t one of those dealer display knives that are huge but worthless. Nope. It is the Cold Steel SR1 Folding Tanto. Many of our readers have requested that we test some more expensive knives. We are happy to do so, when they become available for testing. …







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 “Voting with Your Feet” relocation to escape high taxes. (See the Economy and Finance section section.)   Precious Metals: Today we’ll start with a link to this commentary by veteran metals analyst Cliff Droke: The Silver Lining To Gold’s Storm Cloud o o o Gold …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Master those books you have. Read them thoroughly. Bathe in them until they saturate you. Read and reread them…digest them. Let them go into your very self. Peruse a good book several times and make notes and analyses of it. A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books he has merely skimmed. Little learning and much pride comes from hasty reading. Some men are disabled from thinking by their putting meditation away for the sake of much reading. In reading let your motto be ‘much not many.’”  – …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday – August 19, 2018

August 19th is the birthday of Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1906-1971). Farnsworth was an American inventor who is best known for his image pickup device that formed the basis for the fully functional and complete all-electronic television system. Among his many other inventions was the Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor, a small nuclear fusion device that remains a viable source of neutrons. At his death, he held over 300 patents, mostly in radio and television.




Gunsmith Training: Pistolsmithing – Week Two, by R2

Last week was primarily learning about the Colt 1911, as much of the the design and function aspect of it can be found in nearly every gun designed. This week, I finished up the 1911 with tips for solving common problems and issues with it. With the 1911 being one of the most popular handguns in America, they are always there to work on (and fix problems caused by others as well.) Browning Hi-Power Immediately after the 1911 section, AGI covered another one of Browning’s masterpieces. While not completely of Browning’s design, since Dieudonne Saive, Browning’s apprentice had to finish …




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”. California’s PG&E plays the blame game of the recent fires. License Plate Tracking California has such a problem with welfare fraud that they are now using license place scanners to track drivers and solve crimes. Since 2016, Sacramento County welfare fraud investigators have been using the data. The investigators and the Department of Human Assistance says that they use the automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras that are located on street poles …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday – August 18, 2018

August 18th is the birthday of Meriwether Lewis, an American explorer, soldier, politician and public administrator that is best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. An interesting side note is the Girandoni Air Rifle carried by Lewis during that expedition. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 78 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 …