Month: April 2021

Using Different Size Axes, by Steve Acker

Every year that I can make it I go on summer vacation for a week in Colorado in a remote wilderness area, camping, hiking and fishing with old buddies. It is roughly 50 miles off of the nearest paved road. The area we use is a primitive camping area and at 10,000 feet. Temperatures can range from 34 F to 92 F. I use this time partly to keep up my outdoor skills, practice axe skills, evaluate new camping equipment and ideas, practice alternate fire building skills, and sit around the campfire with the guys telling stories about how fast …


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 growing scarcity of some firearms magazines. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: PRECIOUS-Gold firms near 7-week high on weaker dollar, lower yields o  o  o Gold prices can push higher as bond yields have peaked – Metals Focus Economy & Finance: Travel on U.S. Roads Fell 12.1% …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Place on one side fifty thousand armed men, and on the other the same number; let them join in battle, one side fighting to retain its liberty, the other to take it away; to which would you, at a guess, promise victory? Which men do you think would march more gallantly to combat — those who anticipate as a reward for their suffering the maintenance of their freedom, or those who cannot expect any other prize for the blows exchanged than the enslavement of others? One side will have before its eyes the blessings of the past and the hope of similar …


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 22, 2021

Today is the birthday of the late Charles Rankin Bond, Jr., who was born in Dallas on April 22, 1915. (Died, 2009.) He was one of the last of the AVG Flying Tiger pilots. Today is the birthday of actor Eddie Albert (born Edward Albert Heimberger April 22, 1906.) He died May 26, 2005, at age 99.) For his actions in the battle of Tarawa, he was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” device. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: …


Building Prepper Infrastructure – Part 3, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Can you hear me now? How do you plan on communicating when your cellphone doesn’t work? There are numerous radio options available including FRS/GMRS, MURS, CB, Marine band, and ham bands. Having spare radios and accessories will be important and those spares should be stored in Faraday cages. The problem with radio communications is that they are not secure, meaning others can listen in on your conversations gathering information that might then be used against you. Some of those radios will require batteries too that may give out at some point and …


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 Second Amendment Sanctuaries. Putting Nuclear Bombers Back on Alert? Top nuclear commander says he will push to put bombers back on alert if US gets rid of its ICBMs.  Thanks …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 21, 2021

April 21st is Aggie Muster, for all Texas A&M graduates. Aggie Muster celebrations/meetings are held as far away as Japan, Germany, and Afghanistan. April 21st was selected as the day to celebrate Muster since that is the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, where Santa Anna’s army was defeated by the Texian Army led by Sam Houston. — This leaked draft document from the ATF is just about as clear as mud:  Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms. So it appears that not only are they going to soon restrict 80% receivers, but they also want …


Building Prepper Infrastructure – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1.) Where do we Start? Like everything we do in survival we have to look at vulnerability, that is: That which can hurt us the most and quickest. In my opinion safe and plentiful potable water is the highest priority. So, what can we do now to build our own water infrastructure so that when our blue 55-gallon drum is empty we don’t die of dehydration or cholera? Depending upon your living situation (urban/suburban/rural) this may be a simple process or a major challenge. The point however is to ensure that you have the infrastructure ready to …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 20, 2021

On April 20th, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, leased by BP, killed 11 workers and began spewing an estimated 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three months, creating the worst known offshore oil spill. April 20th is also the day that we remember the victims of the Columbine High School tragedy, where two students stormed into a suburban high school in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, at lunchtime with guns and explosives, killing 13 and wounding dozens more in what was, at the time, the nation’s deadliest school shooting. — It …


Building Prepper Infrastructure – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

Today’s modern society, for the most part, is dependent upon several intertwined and dependent infrastructures. We rely upon these intertwined and dependent systems for our 21st Century Western lives. As we have witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic and the Texas Polar Vortex, these infrastructures can be very easy to interrupt and one disruption can start a domino effect. For many preppers, storing equipment and supplies back is the failsafe method for handling societal infrastructure disruptions. A family of four putting away a 55-gallon blue drum of water seems like a major achievement but in reality, that water will only last …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — First, and foremost, here is a very useful piece from my friend Commander Zero’s excellent Notes From The Bunker blog: Canned beef back at Costco. o  o  o Americans will likely have to navigate a maze of vaccine “passports” o  o  o Duane had this comment: “Tunnel Rabbit’s informative article on solar power is helpful for someone just starting …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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 the renewed push for a Greater Idaho border realignment. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho Idaho Legislature Considers Absorbing Part Of Oregon. The article begins: “A group of Oregon residents want their rural counties to be absorbed by Idaho, to throw off the …