The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“This drill is an old chestnut among some shooters but I hadn’t heard it before. Goes like this. Get yer gear and yer sighted-in serious gun, go to the range, set yer target, get in position, aim and fire one shot. You’re done. Don’t touch that dial, nudging zero is a whole different exercise. This is a ‘know thyself’ thing. Mark yer target and go home. Do this over time, every weekend or every other day, or what ev-ver, no matter the weather: rain and misty, cold and windy, or warm and still. Whether yer rested or groggy. The idea …




Preparedness Notes for Sunday – August 26, 2018

August 26, 526, is the official anniversary of the invention of toilet paper by the Chinese. We celebrate this, though not because of its convenience. In fact, it has many shortcomings, some which are described within the articles and letters of SurvivalBlog. Our celebration of it is primarily because we now have an official metric of just how hard core of a prepper you are as well as a metric for just how economically unstable your country is.




Gunsmith Training: Pistolsmithing- Week Three, by R2

This week, I continued in the AGI gunsmithing course, focusing on pistolsmithing. I’m really enjoying the course, though it is considerably different that what I had expected. Call From Gene Kelley Interestingly enough, I received a call from Gene Kelley, the president of AGI, to talk about the past articles and where I was going with the article series. Gene is a really nice guy, though obviously a driven person. The conversation only lasted a few minutes, but it’s worth noting that I did not receive pressure from him to say nice things about the course. One thing that he …




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”. Whatever happened to good old R-E-S-P-E-C-T? In the Name of Safety Reader H.L. sent in this article on the 40 Million vehicle recall currently taking place. At issue are the “defective” airbags made by Takata. As the airbags age, they may malfunction. While Takata deserves the oblivion that they received for manufacturing sub-par equipment, the real issue is your rights as a consumer. As our government moves more into the nanny state …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (KJV)




Preparedness Notes for Saturday – August 25, 2018

August 25th is a birthday shared by novelist Frederick Forsyth (born 1938) and late American humorist Patrick F. McManus (born 1933, died April 11, 2018.)  Forsyth was the author of The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil’s Alternative, and many others. McManus was born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho, so his books could be classified as American Redoubt humor. His passing was sad news. He is greatly missed. – JWR




Tips On Buying Used Handguns, by Pat Cascio

I am no longer teaching NRA firearms classes, though I did that for more than 25 years, mostly giving classes for folks wanting to get their concealed handgun permit. During all those years teaching handgun classes, I had quite a few students ask me about buying used handguns. What To Look For When Buying Used Handguns They wanted to know what to look for. More often than not, I’d accompany them to the local gun shop and help them in selecting a used handgun and talk with them about what to look for in a good used handgun. I’m a …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

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:

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”. There is a new threat from a parasitic disease that is spreading across America. Matt Bracken Matt Bracken has posted a video that details the government civil war that is going on right now in the United States. It’s pretty certain that if Trump had not won the election, there would be no Mueller investigation, Manafort conviction or any of this other political nonsense. These men may have committed crimes, but without …







Preparedness Notes for Friday – August 24, 2018

On August 24th, 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths in an event that symbolized the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This is a moment in history that we would do well to remember. An empire that ruled the known world was corrupted from the inside to the point that they could not defend themselves from a much weaker enemy. This could conceivably be the beginning of the dark middle ages.




Guest Post: Wasp Control that Works, by Patrice Lewis

A few days ago I put up a post about the horrifically bad wasp year we’re having. Outdoor activities had to be suspended except before dawn or after dark because of how many stinging insects were swarming the area. We’re not alone — everyone we know is experiencing similar issues. Recently Don was in a hardware store, and he noticed they had shelves and shelves of wasp traps for people desperate to control them.




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 future collector cars–that is, current production models that are likely to become collectible. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)   Precious Metals: Video: Gold Speculators Are Least Bullish In Years o o o Over at Kitco: First Digital Gold, Now Silver To Be Added To Blockchain …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“All the people constitute the militia – according to the Founding Fathers. Therefore every able-bodied man has a duty under the Constitution to become part of the ‘well-regulated’ militia, specifically to understand and perform well with the individual weapon currently issued to the regular establishment …. Thus one who has not qualified himself with the M16 may not be considered to be a responsible citizen.” – Col. Jeff Cooper




Preparedness Notes for Thursday – August 23, 2018

August 23rd is the anniversary of the declaration of the independent state of “Franklin” in Eastern Tennessee by the settlers there in 1784. Unfortunately, the Continental Congress rejected it, so the state of Franklin never became a reality. o o o There are still plenty of openings in round 78 of theSurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.. If you like to see your article published and have an opportunity to win these fantastic prizes, get your article written and sent in to us. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest This has been another entry for Round 78 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing …