Month: October 2021

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, details on the sentencing of an Illinois woman for her foolish behavior in a grizzly bear encounter at Yellowstone Park. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Free solo climber gets stranded halfway up 330-foot wall near Big Bend. o  o  o Judge OK’s Chad Daybell’s request …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

To my great distress, I sometimes hear people say, in their zeal for fervency and efficacy in prayer, that we should never qualify our prayer requests with the words “if it be Your will.” Some will even say that to attach those words, those conditional terms, to our prayers is an act of unbelief. We are told today that in the boldness of faith we are to “name it and claim it.” I suppose I should be more measured in my response to this trend, but I can’t think of anything more foreign to the teaching of Christ. We come …



Smith & Wesson Shorty .40, by Pat Cascio

I used to be a huge fan of Smith & Wesson handguns. At one time, they were my preferred handgun for duty and concealed carry. However, after several bad experiences with their customer service/repair shop, I rarely look at S&W handguns these days. S&W used to have one of the best customer service departments bar none. So, these days, I don’t look at many of their handguns. I remember when S&W came out with their Model 469, 9mm handgun. It was a winner in my book. At the time, they were a compact pistol, that held a lot of ammo …


Recipe of the Week: Dish End Soup

The following detailed recipe was kindly sent to us by SurvivalBlog reader Debra in Missouri: Dish End Soup Being a bookworm at heart, I’ve amassed a small collection of books on rationing, wartime cooking and famine. Inspiration for this recipe comes from a book by Wong Hong Suen called WARTIME KITCHEN: Food and Eating in Singapore 1942-1950. Published in 2009 by National Museum of Singapore, it contains a wealth of information about the public adaptation to wartime scarcity. “Dish ends became a gourmet food. This was the soup stock made from boiling all the food left over by customers of …


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 rapidly rising car prices — both new and used. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Reuters: Gold pops over 1% as U.S. jobs data miss cools Fed taper bets. o  o  o Capital Economics looks for silver prices to drop 5% to $21.50 before year-end. o  o  o …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 10, 2021

On October 10th, 1913, the Panama Canal officially linked the Atlantic to the Pacific when the Gamboa dike was breached with dynamite charges. Pictured are the canal’s Gatun Locks. Today is also the birthday of composer Giuseppe Verdi. (Born 1813, died 1901. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 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 …


Slowing Evaporation From a Zippo Lighter, by The Novice

The iconic Zippo lighter is an excellent tool for starting fires. Battlefield tested from World War 2 to the War on Terror, it has proven to be a versatile, durable, and reliable tool in daily use. One major drawback of the Zippo is that it loses fuel fairly quickly due to evaporation. I had previously read about an old trick for slowing this evaporation by using a piece of bicycle inner tube. I decided to give it a try. Lighter History A lighter is a portable and reusable device designed to produce a flame. Already in the 1600s, the first …



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 9, 2021

On October 9, 1000, Leif Ericson discovered “Vinland” (possibly at what was later named L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 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 …


Post Facto Vaccine Countermeasures, by S.F. in Oregon

Editor’s Introductory Note:  The following is not medical advice. It is presented for informational purposes only. Consult your family doctor before undertaking any self-administered procedures. — While I don’t suggest anyone get a COVID vaccine, some people have told me that they feel they have no choice. One case in point, a mother with a special needs child who can’t afford to lose her job. Another, a man who has served 18 years in the military who doesn’t want to lose his retirement benefits. Finally, if it gets dystopian enough, hypothetically consider the plight of an anti-vax patriot traveling with …


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.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they …