Month: September 2022

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 overhang of European energy derivatives. (See the Derivatives section.) Precious Metals: Silver prices see short squeeze, testing resistance near $20, up 6% on weak dollar. o  o  o As expected, the silver-to-gold ratio is reversing. When I last checked (on Thursday, September 15, 2022) the ratio was down …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 15, 2022

On this day in 1944, the U.S. 1st Marine Division landed on the island of Peleliu, one of the Palau Islands in the Pacific, as part of a larger operation to provide support for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was preparing to invade the Philippines. Within one week of the invasion, the Marines lost 4,000 men. By the time it was all over, that number would surpass 9,000. The Japanese lost more than 13,000 men. Flamethrowers and bombs finally subdued the island for the Americans, but it all proved pointless. MacArthur invaded the Philippines without the need of Army or Marine …


Are You Ready For Societal Winter?

Many of you reading this are ready for winter, both literally and figuratively. Your firewood is stacked and your kindling is split. Your barn is stacked full of hay. Your larder is crammed full of food. Your fuel tanks are topped off. And your home armory is “dialed-in”, with its walls comfortably stacked with ammo cans.  But some of you reading this are not nearly so well prepared. Whether by lack of resolve or lack of resources, you aren’t ready for the manifold challenges of the 21st Century. Winter is coming. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts that the winter of …


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 BATFE Over-Reach. More BATFE Over-Reach Reader Tim J. sent us three articles and video links illustrating BATFE over-reach: Captain’s Journal: If The ATF Shows Up On Your Doorstep. Video from …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 14, 2022

Today is the birthday of James Wilson, a lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence (1742 – 1798). This is also the birthday of actor Clayton Moore (1914–1999). His name is almost synonymous with The Lone Ranger. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 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 …


Can the USS America Be Rescued or Will She Founder?, by St. Funogas

Today, in the September 7th in the Snippets column, many of the topics in some of my recent “do-not-publish” essays were covered so I thought I’d share some opinions. I agree with most of the comments and links in today’s Snippets column, as I generally do, but a few I disagree with I hope are worthy of mention, mostly on saving the country from the tyranny which is barreling down on us and becoming obvious even to the oblivious. In V for Vendetta, I love the Guy Fawkes moment at the end, when everything representative of the ruling tyrannical government …


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. — First up, is this news: Federal judge blocks Colorado county from banning sale and manufacturing of specific semi-automatic weapons and magazines.  JWR’s Comments: The impact of the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision is just starting to be felt. Bruen clarifies that a “text, history, and tradition” test must be applied. Hence, any sort of …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 13, 2022

September 13th, 1951 was the birthday of President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 102 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), Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 …


What’s in the Rest of My Bags and Why – Part 2, by D.D. in Arizona

This is the conclusion of a two-part article. Part 1 was posted on August 30th. Main Compartment The part number of my bugout bag — a Direct Action Messenger Bag — is BG-MSGM-CD5. I like the new approach of these bags to line the inside with the loop part of Velcro® and then just stick everything inside at whatever angle and arrangement you prefer. I used three different methods to attach the gear: Vertx makes a thing named the MAK Band – very helpful for the pepper sprays and holding Glock magazines. Self-adhesive strips of hook material on the lighter …


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, the emphasis is on the wildfire season, which may continue for a few more weeks. Idaho Reported on September 8th: Idaho County Sheriff calls for ‘go’ evacuations for Williams Creek Fire. Here is an excerpt: “The Idaho County Sheriff’s Office has called for level three …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 12, 2022

Today is the birthday of Richard Jordan Gatling. He was born September 12, 1818, and died February 26, 1903. He was an American inventor best known for his invention of the Gatling gun, the first successful machine gun. — After nearly 40 years of riding across millions of American television and movie screens, the cowboy actor William Boyd, best known for his role as Hopalong Cassidy, died on this day in 1972 at the age of 77. — I suppose that by now, most of you have seen the video from yesterday (September 11, 2022), of an audio system glitch …