The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they arose and fled in the …




Preparedness Notes for Friday – April 13, 2018

On April 13th, 1970, disaster struck 200,000 miles from earth when oxygen tank number two blew up on Apollo 13. Mission commander Lovell reported the now famous words “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” The landing mission was aborted and the next four days were spent inventing innovative ways to create survival equipment out of various hardware on hand as well as performing emergency, untested procedures and maneuvers to bring the crippled craft back to earth. On April 17, with the world anxiously watching, Apollo 13 astronauts touched down safely in the Pacific Ocean.




CMMG Banshee 9mm AR Pistol, by Pat Cascio

Today, we are taking an exclusive look at the all-new CMMG “Banshee” 9mm pistol. Some might even call it a Personal Defense Weapon (PDW). SurvivalBlog was the first to receive this new pistol, and it has been a confidential project. Hush-Hush Five-Week Test We conducted a five-week test on this new AR 9mm pistol. I had originally planned on running about 500 rounds of 9mm ammo through the Banshee, which is a more than a fair test. However, I had so many volunteer testers helping me that we ran more than 1,500 rounds of ammo through this new AR pistol. It …




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 we have an update on the prices of registered machineguns. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.) Precious Metals: First up, some analysis by Christopher Aaron: Silver Price Forecast: Continued Lagging Signals Caution Stocks: Stocks Rise as Trump Shakes Up Trade Landscape: Markets Wrap …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday – April 12, 2018

April 13, 1743 The birthday of Thomas Jefferson. (He died on July 4, 1826 just a few hours before the death of John Adams. How patriotic of both of them to pass away on the Fourth of July.) o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 76 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 …




How to Prepare When You’re The Only One- Part 3, by Patriotman

I’m a man in his mid 20s trying to prepare for when SHTF to care for 21 family members and guide another 21, none of which are really contributing in any significant way. I’m also part of a fireteam group, but they are not walking the walk on preparations either. My girlfriend is supportive, but I feel generally alone in my preparations. I’ve outlined the problems I have in each group– family and fireteam– in Part 1 of this article series. In Part 2, I went over how I am resolving these problems and my specific plans as well as …




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”. Patriot Nurse needs your help today. Patriot Nurse YouTube strikes again! Patriot Nurse is yet the latest example of the liberal/progressive agenda on social media platforms. On April 11, she woke up and checked her channel and found that practically all of her videos had been demonitized including those that had nothing to do with firearms or patriotism. Even the video with medical training had been demonitized. Of course, there is no …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.” – Judge Learned Hand, in his dissenting opinion to Commissioner v. Newman, 159 F.2d 848, 851 (2d Cir. 1947)




Preparedness Notes for Wednesday – April 11, 2018

April 12th is the birthday of the late novelist Tom Clancy. (Born 1947, died October 1, 2013). It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre. Coincidentally, Tom Clancy’s first literary agent was my agent, Robert Gottlieb. o o o SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today features another entry for Round 76 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 …




How to Prepare When You’re The Only One- Part 2, by Patriotman

I’m a man in his mid 20s trying to prepare for when SHTF to care for 21 family members, none of which are really contributing in any significant way. I’m also part of a fireteam group, but they are not walking the walk on preparations either. My girlfriend is supportive, but I feel generally alone in my preparations. I’ve outlined the problems I have in each group– family and fireteam– in Part 1 of this article series. How Do You Overcome These Barriers to Success? Now that I have laid out my problems, which are substantial, I want to talk …




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 Pre-1965 Silver Coins. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.) Precious Metals: Clive Maund: ‘The Most Bullish Set Up for Silver that I Have Ever Seen’ (Thanks to H.L. for the link.) o  o  o Precious Metals Weekly Report – April …




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 the new generation of rechargeable batteries. Books: Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen o  o  o How to Stay Alive in the Woods: A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation Anywhere, by Bradford Angier Movies: A Wing and A Prayer (2017). This great documentary about Al Schwimmer and the founding of the Israeli Air Force is available for free download to Amazon Prime members. Also available on DVD. o o o They Live (1988). Now available …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“They treat me like a fox, a cunning fellow (Schlaukopf) of the first rank. But the truth is that with a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and when I have to deal with a pirate, I try to be a pirate and a half.” – Otto Furst von Bismark, speaking with Gyula Andrássy in Salzburg on September 18, 1877. As quoted in Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Eastern Question. A Study in Diplomacy and Party Politics (1935) by Robert William Seton-Watson, p. 224




Preparedness Notes for Tuesday – April 10, 2018

April 11th is the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, and Flight of the Intruder. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a vaguely anti-war commentary laced with references to reincarnation). Milius is JWR’s favorite Hollywood writer and director, in part because he stands for everything that Hollywood …