Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 5, 2021

On February 5th, 1869, the largest alluvial ^[1] gold ^[2] nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger ^[3]“, is found in Moliagul, Victoria ^[4], Australia.

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Two variants of the 15th Anniversary edition of the waterproof 2005-2020 SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick ^[5] are now available for pre-ordering.  (One of them is a limited edition in a keepsake tin box, with a keychain.) Thanks for your patience, folks!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest ^[6]. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon ^[7]. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course ^[8] (a $1,095 value),
3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses ^[9], excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper ^[10]. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees ^[11] in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product ^[12] from Sunflower Ammo,
7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses ^[13].

Second Prize:

1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 ^[14] Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord ^[15] (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

1. Three sets each ^[16] of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of ^[17] Directive 21 (a $275 value),
3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections ^[18], a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company ^[19], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail ^[20] us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.