Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 5, 2019

August 5th is the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The intense, fast-moving forest fire took place in what later became the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. The events of that fire were chronicled in the book Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean and immortalized in the haunting lyrics of the ballad Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan. (Warning: Grab a box of tissue, before listening.) — Today, we present a product review by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. …




The Latest Writing Contest Winners (Round 83)

After a brief delay due to some gun show travel, we’ve completed the judging for Round 83 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. That round ended on Just 31st, 2019. The winners are: First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to Doctor Dan for Family Medical Preps Part 1 & Part 2 (posted July 17 &18, 2019).  He will receive the following prizes: A $3,000 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 Course Certificate. This can be used for …




Lifelite TCP Pepper Ball Launcher, by Pat Cascio

Lethal force, less-lethal force, less-than-lethal force, non-lethal force…it can all be very confusing, and when it comes down to it, a jury will be the ones deciding your fate, in a court room, whenever you use any type of “force” to defend yourself or your loved ones. And, no matter what you might think of the amount of force you use, you could still be wrong. Not too many years ago, a Texas judge ruled that a man who was involved in a fight, used lethal force to kill another man. The “lethal” force used – it was his cowboy …




Recipe of the Week: Angie’s Beef and White Bean Soup

Angie kindly sent us her recipe for a hearty beef and white bean soup. This makes good use of your stored dry white beans, or canned beans. Ingredients 2 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubed pieces 2 cups chopped onion 2 cups sliced or chopped carrot 4 garlic cloves, minced or grated 2 tablespoons Canola oil, divided 2 cups water 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried sage 3 or 4 whole bay leaves 32 ounces beef broth 5 cups of dried white beans, soaked overnight. These should …




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, we traverse from our normal “E&I” column items to look at tangibly investing in “Pre-Remington” Marlin firearms. Tangibles Focus: Pre-Remington Marlins My friend Commander Zero, the editor of the Notes From The Bunker preparedness blog has several times mentioned the significance of “Pre-Remington” Marlin firearms. This term …