Month: June 2020

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. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Make haste, o God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — June 26, 2020

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June 26th is the birthday of Marine Corps Lt. General Chesty Puller (born 1898, died October 11, 1971). Perhaps America’s finest-ever maverick officer, Puller was part of what I call the Even Greater Generation. — I just heard that Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) is running a short term sale on a combo offering: a SIG-Sauer Whiskey 3 (3-9×40) rifle scope along with one of their Kilo 1400 laser rangefinders.  They are offering this combo at just $249.99. These would have normal retail prices of $199 and $249, respectively. So you are essentially getting the scope for free. …


I’m Unarmed — What Gun Do I Buy?, by Frog

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You’re sitting at home with your family in a suburb at what is normally a comfortable distance of 30 to 60 minutes from your nearest major city. Life feels as normal as it can — quarantine being considered — and your dinner is interrupted by the news that there is is rioting in the adjoining city. Then, the country is rioting; finally, international cities are rioting. You’ve been aware of the need preparedness for some time, but you find yourself without a firearm. What do you do? This article will be intended for survival-minded folks living in the ‘burbs who …


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. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, a link to an essay by former congressman Dr. Ron Paul. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Von Greyerz: History Tells Us To Own Gold When Central Banks Run Out Of Control o  o  o Gold price surges to 7.5-year high as coronavirus concerns mount Economy & Finance: The Wall …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 25, 2020

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On June 25th, 1876, Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeated the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River. The Battle of Little Bighorn–also called Custer’s Last Stand – marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. While complicated, the generally accepted reason for the battle is that the discovery of gold in South Dakota’s Black Hills in 1875 led to the U.S. government disregarding previous treaty agreements. The gruesome fate of …


Oral History: A Child of the Great Depression – Part 3

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(Continued, from Part 2. This concludes the series.) We also raised rabbits, in a row of three backyard hutches, that my father built. These were wire mesh hutches on wooden frames that were elevated and protected by a roof. We raised white rabbits with black ears, noses, and paws, as well as some gray rabbits. I was in charge of gathering the rabbit feed. Since Dinuba was a farm town, all of the vacant lots had weeds that were mostly hay grass, or alfalfa. Once every two or three days, I would ride my bicycle around town and use hand …


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 the inflation the prices of Rawles XL Voyager knives. Big Brother’s Tech Advances Reader C.M. sent this: 10 Things Edward Snowden Didn’t Tell You About Big Brother – Our Beloved Uncle …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 24, 2020

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June 24th the birthday of rifle-toting abolitionist pastor Henry Ward Beecher. (Born 1813, died March 8, 1887.) He and his adherents from his church smuggled so many Sharps rifles to Bleeding Kansas that the Sharps rifles picked up the nickname Beecher’s Bibles. Wikipedia says of Beecher: “Several of his brothers and sisters became well-known educators and activists, most notably Harriet Beecher Stowe, who achieved worldwide fame with her abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” I wonder if the monument to Henry Ward Beecher will be the next target of the BLM iconoclasts. I suppose that someone should inform them of the …


Oral History: A Child of the Great Depression – Part 2

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(Continued, from Part 1.) The Principal of Dinuba High School, Walter Hellbaum, came up recruiting at UC Berkeley, because Howard Page, his Agriculture and ROTC teacher–who was another Army reserve officer–had been recalled to active duty.  Daddy was a good fit for a position at Dinuba High School because he was qualified to teach both Agriculture and ROTC classes. But then a more experienced Agriculture teacher came along. So my father ended up teaching Math, Science, Spanish, and he led the Junior ROTC program. Daddy moved our family to Dinuba in 1940. We first lived in a modest two-bedroom rental …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on the Branson-based family bluegrass band The Petersons. (See the Music section.) Books: The Lost Art …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 23, 2020

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On June 23, 1868, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for a typewriter. Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard. Along with Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden and John Pratt, Sholes has been contended as one of the inventors of the first typewriter in the United States. — Today: Part 1 of a three-day series, with some useful oral history, from my mother.