Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 11, 2019

March 11th is the birthday of the late actor Anton Yelchin.  He was born in 1989 and died June 19, 2016. He is remembered for his portrayal of Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation, and as Ensign Pavel Checkov, the most recent Star Trek movie series. His untimely death came in a freak accident wherein his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee unexpectedly rolled forward on an incline, pinning him to a security fence. Today is also the birthday of author Douglas Adams (born 1952). He is the author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Also on this day, the Great Blizzard of …




Cold Steel Cheap Shot 130 Crossbow, by Pat Cascio

We often only think about firearms when we discuss hard-core survival. And of course, we need a good knife for various chores. But archery is often overlooked. Today, we’re taking a close look at Cold Steel‘s Cheap Shot 130 crossbow. I quickly found that it is a joy to use. When I was 11 or 12 years old, a friend and I used to hunt rabbits in a field – a big field – down the block from where my mother and step-father lived. I didn’t live with them, but would spend some weekends at their house. The field itself …




Recipe of the Week: Avalanche Lily’s Dairy-Free Biscuits

Avalanche Lily’s Dairy-Free Biscuits Here is a favorite that we bake nearly every week here at the Rawles Ranch, especially in winter months. Ingredients 2 Cups Flour 1 TBS Baking powder 2 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar 1/4 tsp Salt 1/2 cup of the thick portion of a can of coconut milk. (Or use butter or shortening, for a traditional recipe) 2/3 cup the watery portion of a can of coconut milk. (Or use cow milk, for a traditional recipe)  




Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news 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 SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today’s focus is on discontinued SIG pistols. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: This is a good piece to start off today’s column: Trade the Gold to Silver Ratio. o o o Fund Manager: Gold Is Historically Cheap When Compared To The Stock Market   Economy & …







Preparedness Notes for Sunday – March 10, 2019

On March 10, 1910, China officially ended slavery. But unofficially, China now has one of the world’s largest slave populations. These are mostly political prisoners, working in prison factories. Sadly, there is no way of reliably knowing whether or not most of the “Made In China” merchandise that you buy might originate from Chinese prison factories. — Today, we’ve selected a guest post from Ammo.com. It is posted with their permission.




Gun Background Checks Explained

Editor’s Note: This article was first posted at Ammo.com, and is re-posted with permission. How the State Came To Decide Who Can and Cannot Buy a Firearm Prior to 1968, most adults in the United States could purchase a firearm without state interference. Guns were available in local retail stores, as well as mail-order catalogs, and as long as you hadn’t been convicted of a felony and you had the funds, there weren’t any questions asked. Things are different now. Depending on where in America you are and what type of gun you want to buy, there’s a good chance …




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 “JWR”.  Today, we focus on Constitutional Carry (aka: Permitless Concealed Carry.) Kentucky Becomes 16th Constitutional Carry State We’ll start out with some quite good news:  Matt Bevin to Sign Bill Making Kentucky 16th Permitless Carry State.  JWR’s Comment:  The polarization of gun laws is becoming more pronounced.  Freedom-loving interior states are restoring firearms freedom. Constitutional Carry is a rising tide. But meanwhile the mostly coastal leftist Nanny states are restricting freedom with a panoply …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday – March 9, 2019

March 9th is the birthday of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – the first man to ever travel in space. He was born in 1934 and died in the crash of a MiG-15-UTI fighter on March 27, 1968. Today is also the birthday of writer John McPhee (b. 1931), a master of creative nonfiction. One of McPhee’s most widely read books is Coming into the Country, which eloquently describes the Alaskan wilderness. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: …




Time and Planning, Pt. 2, by 3ADscout

(Continued from Part 1.) Learning from history about older technology and ways people lived is great knowledge but having the knowledge without the “tools” still leaves a gap in your preparedness. Finding the tools and devices of bygone eras will also take time. Scouring antique shops, flea markets, garage sales, estate sales and attending auctions takes time but again the time spent can be productive use of your time in several different ways. It can be quality time spent with the family. It can also be used to teach our children about the past and what “things” were used for. …




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 “JWR”.  Today, we focus on the announced retrial of Tommy Robinson. Photobucket Web Site Compromised by Malware SuvrvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson, sent this warning: “Photobucket has been having ongoing issues with service and security. Quite a few of the “featured” photos link to dangerous malware that can damage your files. Today, I got hit with an annual charge, only three months after my previous annual charge. Clicking the FAQ button immediately started …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and …