Year: 2020

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — December 2, 2020

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On December 2nd, 1823, what became known as the Monroe Doctrine was declared by President James Monroe to Congress outlining a foreign policy initiative that forbade European interference in the American hemisphere but also asserted U.S. neutrality in regard to future European conflicts. — Today, we’re posting another review article by our Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. (Once in a while, article scheduling allows us to have two articles from Pat in the same week.)


CRKT Ken Onion Panache, by Pat Cascio

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Ken Onion is one of the most famous knife designers on the planet. I’ve never met him face to face, but I’ve spoken with him a few times on the phone and discussed his knife designs, as I was preparing articles about them. He is a wild man, to be sure! But he knows everything he needs to know about making some of the most in-demand knives in the world – both for collectors and practical users alike. To be sure, original Onion handmade knives don’t come cheap, so we have CRKT (Columbia River Knife & Tool) to thank for …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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 is also an emphasis on links to sources for storage food and a variety of storage and caching 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 wonderfully anachronistic music of Pokey La Farge. (See …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — December 1, 2020

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This is the birthday of novelist Rex Stout (1886–1975). Rex Stout was the brother of Ruth Stout, the gardener who wrote about no-till, year-round mulching, organic gardening in her book Gardening Without Work: For the Aging, the Busy, and the Indolent — Today, in addition to announcing the most recent writing contest winners, we’re presenting the latest precious metals column from Stephen Cochran of Gainesville Coins. He kindly sends us this, monthly.


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced: Round 91

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We’ve completed the judging for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize-winning authors are: First Prize: First prize is awarded to A.D.C. for: Kitting Out The Kalashnikov which ran in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 — posted November 5-8, 2020. He will receive: 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 Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a …


November 2020 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

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Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in November? There were many different factors steering gold prices in November, but the two major influences were also the most controversial: the COVID epidemic and the Presidential election. Gold gained in early November, as COVID infections and deaths rose in the US and Europe. The possibility of a contested Presidential election was an even larger factor in the early November gold …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on some crowded rivers.   (See the Montana section.) Idaho Authorities arrest fugitive in Coeur d’Alene, rescue two children missing since 2012 o  o  o Boise virus order prompts ‘robocalls’ to jam phone lines, deter enforcement o  o  o In court over Idaho Capitol …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“A heart that’s full up like a landfill A job that slowly kills you Bruises that won’t heal You look so tired, unhappy Bring down the government They don’t, they don’t speak for us I’ll take a quiet life A handshake of carbon monoxide And no alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises Silent, silent This is my final fit My final bellyache with No alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises No alarms and no surprises, please Such a pretty house And such a pretty garden No alarms and no …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 30, 2020

Satirical novelist Jonathan Swift was born on November 30th, 1667. — Today we are featuring another review by our stalwart Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. — Shipments of Survival Retreats & Relocation are continuing. This is a book that I recently co-authored with my #1 Son, Jonathan Edwards Rawles. If strong interest continues, we will try to have one more printing run completed before Christmas. The book is available through both Amazon and Jonathan’s SurvivalRealty.com site. The e-book is available at $9.99 as both a PDF and on Kindle. Here are the current ordering links: Main link: https://www.survivalrealty.com/survival-retreats-relocation/ Ebook (direct) Paperback …


Ruger American Compact .45 ACP , by Pat Cascio

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I’m a big fan of the .45 ACP cartridge. The “official” FBI tests show that there isn’t a lick of difference between the 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP rounds – when loaded with high-performance JHP ammo, when it comes to stopping power. But I refuse to believe that those three rounds are all pretty much the same when it comes to stopping a deadly encounter. I do a lot of shooting, and I mean a lot of shooting for my articles, as well as for target practice, tactical shooting and just plain ol’ fun shooting. If there is one …


Recipe of the Week: Smothered Chicken

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The following recipe for Smothered Chicken is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the many bonus items included in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This special 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021. The 14th Edition sold out quickly, so place a reminder in your calendar, if you want one. Ingredients 2 small chickens or 1 …


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, we look at rural real estate. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Gold and silver both were pushed down last week, as was Bitcoin. But in the long term, we know the fate of the U.S. Dollar. o  o  o Record Silver Shortage in 2020? o  o  o A primer: Physical …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 29, 2020

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Today is the birthday of writer Clive Staples (“C.S.”) Lewis, who was born in 1898 and died 22 November 1963. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the final 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 Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate …