Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 1, 2021

Happy birthday to singer and actress Julie Andrews (born 1935.) Her name is always associated with The Sound of Music. — Today’s guest article is a book excerpt by Don Shift, a SurvivalBlog reader. Since it has been published elsewhere, it is not eligible in the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. But first, we are announcing the winners for Round 96 of the contest.




Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced: Round 96

We’ve complete the judging for Round 96 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize winners are: First Prize: Mike V., for Combating Sheep Flock Parasites Part 1, and Part 2, posted on August 14-15, 2021. His prizes will include: 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 from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s …




Reacting to Riots, by Don Shift

Editor’s Introductory Note: This guest post is an adaptation of an excerpt from Don Shift’s non-fiction book Suburban Defense: A cop’s guide to protecting your home and neighborhood during riots, civil war, or SHTF. It is posted with permission. — 2020 was the year of the mass riot that made its way into residential neighborhoods. We saw ad hoc groups spring up in defense, but just standing around openly carrying isn’t always going to turn the tide. Bad guys will call your bluff and suburbanites to rural defenders need to consider proper riot/crowd control techniques and equipment. Goals of your …




September 2021 in Precious Metals by Steven Cochran

The following column is authored monthly, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins. — 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 September? Gold was very price sensitive in September, mostly to the downside. Gold saw only muted responses to good news, and overreacted to bad news. Major headwinds included higher bond yields, a stronger dollar, and a growing concern that higher inflation will last longer than central banks said …




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 price changes for used cars and classic cars. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: Arkadiusz Sieroń: We’re Close to Hitting the Debt Ceiling: Gold Doesn’t Care. o  o  o Dollar strength today is equal to gold weakness in terms of percentage gain and decline. (Gary Wagner.) Economy & …







Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 30, 2021

On this day in 1938, the Treaty of Munich was signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier, and Chamberlain. This treaty forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present the final entry for Round 96 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 …




The Urban Versus Rural Chasm, by MacHam

When doing research for this fascinating topic I found so little in the way in empirical research. The question I asked over and over again is: How could such a vast swath of America be ignored for so long? Yet no one asked these questions. Using very current 2020 United States census data you will see that 52% of America lives in unincorporated communities. Then coupled with the fact that 8.4% of America lives in small-town USA, that is cities and towns under 10,000 people. So a qualified majority lives their lives in relative political obscurity. I hope with some …




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, a special column with technical specifications, manuals, maps, and assorted how-to resources and references for various prepper gear and prepper-related topics. My advice is to find a waterproof USB stick with at least …







Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 29, 2021

September 29th, 1881, was the birthday of economist Ludwig von Mises. (Born 1881, died October 10, 1973.) — I’ve reactivated our shopping cart system for Elk Creek Company after a month-long hiatus. Please not that with the recent drop in the spot price of silver, it is an advantageous time to order from us, if paying in Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs). That is because we price all of our merchandise in Pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage prices, and we use a multtiplier for those paying in FRNs by cash, check, or USPS Money Order. The multiplier is presently at a low …




Get Out of the Cities – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) In Part 1, I discussed the primary reason for getting out of the big cities: It is just not safe. The main reasons I have been told that people hesitate on moving to a rural location is not knowing what to do for a living – getting a job. The money thing. Secondarily, the inconvenience of being far away from customary activities. Thirdly, fear of the unknown. There are many reasons why people can’t fathom moving away from the big city. Making money If you can’t “take your job with you”, for …




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. o  o  o Reader Z. wrote to ask: “We are in the process of selling our home and moving to our retreat full-time next week. (Off-grid retreat in the Appalachian mountains.) Our retreat has no address, which leads to my question(s): Should we get an address assigned for the retreat from the local government and list this address on our …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 28, 2021

On September 28, 1066, William The Conqueror invaded England, landing at Pevensey Bay, Sussex. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 96 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 from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s …