Month: September 2019


SIG 556 Classic, by Pat Cascio

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Anyone who knows even a little bit about real battle rifles, knows that the Swiss military has issued the SIG Sauer STGW90 for years, and that it is still being used. The original STGW90 was the envy of gun owners – who, of course, couldn’t own them. First of all, they couldn’t be imported into the USA. Secondly, they were select-fire – a big “no-no” in our once free country. The Swiss also developed a semi-auto only version, known as the PE 90 or SIG 550/551. Still, American gun owners lusted for one of these rifles. Only a few hundred SIG …


Recipe of the Week: Sue’s Home-Canned Tomato Catsup

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Reader Sue H. kindly sent us her recipe for tomato catsup. Because tomatoes are fairly high acid and this is sweetened with sugar, this recipe may be canned with a water bath canner. Ingredients 5 lbs tomatoes – cored and de-seeded. 1 large diced onion 3 cloves garlic ⅓ cup sugar ¾ cup white vinegar ¾ tablespoon salt ¼ tsp celery seed ½ tsp cinnamon ½ tsp paprika ¼ tsp cloves Optional: A bit of black pepper   Catsup Cooking Directions Prepare your tomatoes. Sauce variety tomatoes have less water content per pound, so you won’t have to cook the …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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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 look at investing in green frame Glocks. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: I don’t want to sound like some gloating “I told your so”, but the recent run-up in spot silver is noteworthy. It is interesting to see that the silver-to-gold ratio is starting …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“When the day of our departure was approaching, we went to the regular passport control office to get permission to leave the country. Bengt stood first in the line as interpreter. “What is your name?” asked a ceremonious little clerk, looking suspiciously over his spectacles at Bengt’s huge beard. “Bengt Emmerik Danielsson,” Bengt answered respectfully. The man put a long form into his typewriter. “By what boat did you come to Peru?” “Well, you see,” Bengt explained, bending over the mild little man, “I didn’t come by boat. I came to Peru by canoe.” The man looked at Bengt dumb …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — September 8, 2019

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On September 8, 1565, the first permanent settlement in what would become the United States of America was formed. (St. Augustine, Florida.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: 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 any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 …


Southern California Prepper, by M.J.

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I’ve been a longtime SurvivalBlog reader. I’m glad to say that I’ve learned a lot from reading the blog. Herewith are my two cents: I’m sick of city life. I’m sick of the endless traffic jams. I’m sick of the endless laws, rules, and political correctness. Yet I’m still here; I am not ready to move at this time. The main reason is getting more job experience. I’ve only been in the IT business for about a year and there is still much for me to learn. I’d like to learn more so that I can be more employable wherever …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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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”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at weaponized drones. FAA Reminder: Don’t Weaponize Your Drone Reader G.P. sent this: The FAA Apparently Needs To Remind Users Not To Weaponize Their Drones. Here is how the article begins: …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — September 7, 2019

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Today is the birthday of Dr. Ludwig Vorgrimler (born 1912 in Freiburg, Germany; died 1983). Vorgrimler was the designer of the Spanish CETME rifle, from which sprang a plethora of roller-lock descendants from HK, including the G3, HK21, and MP5. His bolt design was also copied by the Swiss for their excellent PE57 and SIG 510 rifles. (Although the Swiss felt obliged to mount a “beer keg” charging handle on the right side of the receiver, for the sake of familiarity to Schmidt-Rubin shooters.) September 7th is also the birthday of Richard Cole, born in 1915. He passed away on …


Elements of a Security System – Part 5, by J.M.

Observation As I mentioned earlier, direct observation of an intruder approaching is another form of detection, but I’m focusing on situations where you may not be able to have eyes everywhere 24×7. However, if an alarm does go off you’ll need some way to get ‘eyes on’ to determine what caused the alarm without unnecessarily exposing yourself to potential danger. There are a number of possible options to enhance your ability to observe a potential intruder. The simplest and most obvious option would be magnified optics, such as binoculars or a monocular, assuming you have a line-of-sight to the area …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, 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! Jim Reports: I was quite busy this week, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — September 6, 2019

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September 6th, 1757 is the birthday of Marquis de Lafayette (often known simply as Lafayette), a French aristocrat and military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was a close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington met him through his connections in the Free Masons and was impressed with him. After he offered to serve without pay, Congress commissioned him as a Major General and he was an integral part of the battles at Brandywine and Valley Forge. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog …


Elements of a Security System – Part 4, by J.M.

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(Continued from Part 3.) The second type of alerting – remote signal back to a centralized alarm console with a wired or wireless connection when the tripwire is tripped – can be a bit more complicated. In either case you can use something as simple as the clothespin switch to connect two wires to close the circuit, or to ‘press’ the button on a remote transmitter to trigger a relay that set off a light/buzzer. Regardless of the use of local versus remote alerting, if there are any electronics or other components that could degrade when exposed to the elements …