Year: 2021

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 8, 2021

On June 8, 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin. — On June 8, 1937, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is premiered. The symphony’s cantata, featuring Orff’s dramatic chorale of the medieval poem O Fortuna, has been used in umpteen movie soundtracks. It is also a de facto choice for the makers of movie trailers for new films that have not yet been scored. — On June 8th, 1776, Canadian Governor Sir Guy Carleton defeated American Patriot forces under John Sullivan. After taking heavy losses and the loss of General Richard Montgomery at Quebec, the Patriots were pursued …


You Can Shoot — But Can You Fight?, by B.D.C.

Many of you, like myself, have stored firearms and ammunition for events likely to come. Many of you train to become proficient in the use of firearms. But do you know how to fight? Knowing how to effectively deliver an accurate shot to a target from a static position is not knowing how to fight. It is knowing how to shoot. This article is not going to be a how-to. Its purpose is to educate you in the skills you need to effectively fight with a firearm under adverse conditions. Do you train under adverse conditions? To illustrate what I …


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 another plan to move the Washington state line.   (See the Central & Eastern Washington section.) Idaho Draper Couple Survives Small Plane Crash in Idaho o  o  o Fiery head-on car crash in Idaho kills 4, including 3 sisters o  o  o Cheerleader dies …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 7, 2021

On June 7th, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia (pictured) proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for a Declaration of Independence. June 7th, 1967 is also the day of Jerusalem’s redemption from foreign governments in the Six-Day War, placing it back under Israeli sovereign control after having been occupied for over 2,500 years. This was in accord with the UN General Assembly’s vote in 1948. — We are running short of articles for the SurvivalBlog Nonfiction Writing Contest. We’d greatly appreciate it if you’d share your knowledge.  And you’ll be in the running to win some valuable prizes! …


Rock Island Armory 1911 Government Model, by Pat Cascio

There are more 1911 pistols made in the Philippines than in any other country in the world – and that’s a fact. It wasn’t all that many years ago, when it was a real hit or miss, on 1911s from this country. And, as I understand it, there are three major companies that produce 1911s over there. Doesn’t matter what name is stamped on the gun – odds are real good that your Philippine-made 1911 came from one of those three makers. In the past, about the only thing you could get from the Philippines, was a bare bones, military-style …


Recipe of the Week: W.K.’s Easy Fry Bread

The following recipe for Easy Fry Bread is from SurvivalBlog reader W.K.. W.K. says:  I wanted to pass this recipe on, because it is easy to make from shelf-stable ingredients, quick, tasty, and requires no yeast. It also uses less energy to produce than traditional (non-solar-oven) bread. Olive oil tastes best in this, but any oil will work. This is not my own recipe. It was passed down in my family, but it probably wasn’t originally their own, either. Ingredients 3 parts flour (e.g. 3 tsp.) 1 part oil (e.g. 1 tsp.) 1 part water (e.g. 1 tsp.) Dash 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 continuing risks in the global derivatives market. (See the Derivatives section.) Precious Metals: We’ll start out with this piece by Christopher Aaron: Silver Price Forecast: Breakout Ahead This Fall. o  o  o Gold Seems Stuck At $1900. Are Inflationary Fears Exaggerated? Economy & Finance: Biden and the Fed Are …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — June 6, 2021

The 6th of June is remembered for both D-Day and for the birth of Dieudonné Joseph Saive (Pictured, born 1899.) He was the designer of many well-known firearms including the Browning Hi-Power, the FN49 and co-designer (along with Ernest Vervier) of the very popular FN-FAL, which was issued to the militaries of more than 90 countries. And today is the birthday of American gun designer Hugo Borchardt. (June 6, 1844 – May 8, 1924). He was born in Germany. He is best known as the designer of the recoil-operated pistol that bears his name. Also on this day in 1949, …


My Quest for Waterproof Tinder, by The Novice

In the past, I have generally used a cotton ball with a dab of petroleum jelly as my preferred tinder. During some recent testing, I accidentally got the cotton ball damp. I found out that damp cotton performs very poorly as tinder. This was grounds for some serious thought, since wet conditions are often experienced in the field. I decided it would be wise to try to make a waterproof tinder that could be easily ignited with a ferrocerium rod. The First Attempt: Cotton in Paraffin I first tried waterproofing the cotton ball with paraffin. I took a coffee can …



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them began …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — June 5, 2021

On June 5, 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe published the first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in The National Era. She was the sister of firebrand abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 95 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 …


An Electric Car for TEOTWAWKI? – Part 3, by S.B.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) When the Battery Dies, You are Getting a Flatbed Tow Speaking of your electric vehicle turning into an inert hunk of metal, I have run out of juice twice on my vehicle. Both times required a flatbed tow truck to bring my vehicle back home. [Editor’s Note: Never use a traditional tow truck, since there is no “neutral” gear position with electric cars, and damage will occur.] Fortunately, both times I was only a couple of miles from home, and just did not have that last bit of juice needed to get …