I Survived Running for Office, by W.W.

In light of the current political turmoil and contested election, some readers may be thinking of throwing their hat in the ring for elected office. I would like to share my experience of my candidacy for U.S. Congress for the 4th District of Pennsylvania in 2012. As you may recall this was the general election where Barack Obama was elected president and the Tea Party was quite active. I’ve earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History and have always been interested in the political process. Back in the 1990s I served on the executive committee of the Political Action Committee (PAC) …







The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in …




Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 28, 2020

500th Anniversary, today!  On November 28th, 1520, Magellan finally reached the Pacific Ocean after navigating the dangerous straits on the southern tip of South America that now bear his name. He became the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three …




Packing Antique Iron – Part 2, by The Lone Canadian

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER You now should have your holster and all the necessary pieces cut out. At this point there are a bunch of steps that need to be completed before final assembly. I’ll try to keep these all in the right order, or at least the order that I use, which has worked for me so far. Most of these steps require that the leather be damp/wet. Again, watching a few videos on the internet will help with understanding this process. Suffice it to say that for the following steps …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

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:

“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?  Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and …




Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 27, 2020

November 27th is the birthday of both SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio, (pictured) and sci-fi novelist L. Sprague de Camp (1907 – 2000). — Last Call! Our Friday of Color Week Sale at Elk Creek Company ends at midnight tonight (Friday, November 27, 2020.) Note the sharply-reduced prices. Keep in mind that I’ll be traveling for the entire month of December, and therefore I’ll be putting the company on an order-taking hiatus. So this is your last chance to buy a few pre-1899 antique guns from us in 2020. Our small inventory is selling more quickly than I can re-stock …




Packing Antique Iron – Part 1, by The Lone Canadian

First, I better get an introductory disclaimer out of the way. I will be mentioning some different items and companies in this article. I am not associated with any of these companies, and do not receive any endorsements from these companies. These are simply products that I have found to work for me over the years. Now, we can get on to the main event. About 10 years ago, a friend of mine got me interested in antique firearms. I’ve owned a few different ones over the years. Even JWR has started Elk Creek Company, to deal exclusively in pre-1899 …




JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:   To share this, you can find it here: https://kapwi.ng/c/llsoI6Ug Meme Text: The ATF’s “Definitive” Arm Brace Rulings (Du Jour) (We’re Making This Stuff Up…) 2013: Arm Braces are ATF-Blessed and Now Perfectly Legal 2014: Firing a Braced Pistol From Your Shoulder Wouldn’t Make it a SBR January 2015: Touching One to Your Shoulder is a Felony “Redesign” March 2017: It is Now Okay to Sporadically Touch One to Your Shoulder July 2018:  23 of 25 SB Tactical’s Braces Were Not Fully ATF Approved January 2020: We’ve Now Approved 15 Different Arm Brace Designs  …




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. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the recent dip in the gold price, in USD terms. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: Spot Gold took a 3% dive to a 4-month low of around $1,837 per Troy ounce early in the week, and silver meanwhile was down 2%. The gold price slump continued to …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“There is a profound, unbridgeable disagreement between two factions here. One faction is not willing to prioritize authenticating the vote above all else. That faction is more willing to accept perceived social alignment and convention – not dispositive situational proof – as the basis for agreeing to the most important decisions about governance, such as who shall take office. That set of motivations tacitly assumes that there is little meaningful consequence for accepting voting outcomes that may well have been shaped by fraud. The other faction cannot agree to be governed by a voting outcome produced by fraud. This faction …




Preparedness Notes for Thursday — November 26, 2020

November 26th is the birthday of gun inventor Eugene Reising (born 1884, died February 21, 1967). Pictured is his best-known gun design–the submachinegun that carries his name. This is also the birthday Barton Biggs (born 1932, died July 14, 2012). Biggs was a money manager known for his pro-preparedness stance. — Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  I urge you to pray fervently today — both prayers of thanks for God’s blessings in the past year and that 2021 would be a much better year than the trauma and drama of 2020. We need to beseech God, in …




Eight Ways to Make Your Days Count, by Elli O.

With the global pandemic, the inconclusive election results, the weird weather, and pending winter, it seems that some people are in a shopping frenzy, trying to prepare for their uncertain future. I believe they call it “topping off their preps”. Others, still, are doing very little to prepare. If you are reading this article then the reason for your inactivity is probably not denial of the possibly “end times”. It is very likely that you are just overwhelmed with everything that you think needs to be done RIGHT NOW! How can we stay motivated? How can we look at our …




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”. 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 renewed pandemic lockdowns. Biden Plans Nationwide Lockdown in February To start out today’s column, over at SGTReport: Biden to Lockdown Entire USA Come February. (Thanks to JMC for the link.) …