Preparedness Notes for Thursday — June 30, 2022

June 30th is the anniversary of the tragic death of 19 hotshots in the Yarnell Hill Fire, in 2013. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 101 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 …




Review: GripOX Gloves and WoodOX Sling, by Thomas Christianson

GripOX gloves are sturdy, comfortable gloves that are well designed for use in processing firewood. The WoodOX sling is an ingenious, ergonomically designed sling for carrying firewood. The Backstory I am pretty hard on gloves, usually wearing out several pair each year. My wife, “Kari” suggested that if I was going to review anything, I should review some gloves since I would be able to give them a true test of their durability. With that in mind, I contacted LogOX to see if I could test a pair of their GripOX gloves. I had previously reviewed the LogOX Forester Package …




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 look at the ongoing outmigration from America’s urban centers. Urban Exodus Shows No Signs of Slowing Down The Washington Examiner reports: Urban exodus that began during pandemic shows no signs of …







Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — June 29, 2022

On June 29th, 1941, the Germans invaded and occupied Lvov, Ukraine, slaughtering thousands of people. Russia followed a scorched earth policy as Germany invaded just as they had during Napoleon’s invasion. They burned, destroyed, flooded, dismantled and removed anything and everything in territory that they were forced to give up. As the Germans moved in, the Soviets proceeded to murder 3,000 Ukrainian political prisoners. It was so bad that the Germans were actually seen as liberators by the local population. Sadly, within days, they were forced to endure the horrors of the Nazi regime as some 2.5 million Ukrainians were …




Gear Review: Klik Belts, by Thomas Christianson

I recently tested two Klik Belts. One of them is single-ply, and the other one is double-ply. They are both excellent belts that are durable, comfortable, attractive, and do a good job of keeping my pants up. If you need a new belt, it may be worth your while to take a look at what Klik Belts has to offer. Belts as Gear Ever since ancient times, a belt has been one of the basic items of clothing and of gear. The armor of God listed in Ephesians 6:10-18 included the belt of truth. For the Roman soldier, the belt …




SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. This week my family is camping in a remote rural region in the Redoubt with very limited opportunities to access the Internet.  Today, I’m posting just one humorous item in the Snippets column, to keep you entertained. I’m confident that this video will have a viral spread. When I found it on Saturday (June …







Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — June 28, 2022

June 28th, 1703 was the birthday of John Wesley, who died March 2, 1791. — Today’s feature article, written by one of our long-time readers, is too short to be considered in the judging for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. But it is quite useful and greatly appreciated, nonetheless. — More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running our writing contest. Round 101 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival …




Food and Treats for Fido, by Mrs. Alaska

In this article, I will describe making your own food and treats for your dogs. Many of these include long-term storage items. Recently, Zero Hedge posted an article that described animal shelters throughout the country as at full capacity because pet owners have brought in their pets at record rates.  The sad reason repeated is inflationary prices for human and pet products.  Fido and Fluffy had to go. I heard the same thing when we recently adopted a dog from the Anchorage, AK pound. Fortunately, there are many pet products that one can made from scratch, often with long storage …




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 present a special round-up edition of the column, with some useful information on fencing material suppliers and fencing contractors, throughout the American Redoubt region. Idaho Frontier Fence Company in Garden City has been providing Fences, Spiral Staircases, and Railings in Idaho since 1993. o  …




The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world – ‘No, YOU move.’” –  Captain America, in The Amazing Spider-Man: Civil …




Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 27, 2022

Today is the birthday Leroy James Sullivan, born June 27, 1933. (Pictured.) He is an American firearms inventor. Going by Jim Sullivan, he has designed several “scaled-down” versions of larger firearms. He also designed the Beta C-MAG double snail drum magazines. And today is the birthday of Paul Mauser, (June 27, 1838 – May 29, 1914). He was a German weapon designer and manufacturer. His strong and reliable bolt action design was used by many nations. The U.S. Springfield Model 1903 is based on the Mauser Model 1898, and in fact the U.S. government famously lost in a patent infringement …




Springfield Armory 1911 EMP Ronin 9mm 4-Inch, by Pat Cascio

Some years back, I did a review of the (then new) Springfield Armory Enhanced Micro Pistol (EMP) 9mm handgun. It was quite a little powerhouse to be sure. However, the gun under review in this article is a different model: I elected to test the slightly bigger model – but it is still a small 1911, and perfectly-sized for the 9mm round. For a lot of years, many 1911 makers produced some of their 1911 handguns in 9mm as well as .45 ACP – and a number of other calibers as well. I always wondered by the guns in 9mm …




Recipe of the Week: Homemade Haifa Hummus

The following recipe for Homemade Haifa Hummus is from SurvivalBlog reader Yair L. Ingredients 1-1/2 cup of cooked chickpeas — Canned, preferably skinless, or home softened and cooked (or you may substitute garbanzo beans) 1/2 cup Tahini (ground sesame seeds) Storebought or homemade – Optional 1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/8 to 1/4 cup  Fresh-squeezed lemon juice (to taste) Water (or liquid from a can of chickpeas) Salt (optional) 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional) 1 clove of pressed fresh garlic, finely chopped (optional) Chopped olives (optional) Pine nuts (optional) Chopped red pepeprs (optional) Garnish of your choice Directions (With …