Year: 2022

Springfield Armory Operator 1911, by Pat Cascio

Like most folks who are really into firearms, I always want the best for the least amount of money. Needless to say, that rarely works out, and I have to settle for less – it is frustrating, as most “gunnies” will certainly agree with me. We aren’t rich, and we live paycheck-to-paycheck most months. And it is only through frugal living and planning, we can get the things we want. At times, when I do settle for less than I want, I end up selling or trading the gun that I didn’t really want in the first place. This is …


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:

“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. A wise man’s heart is at his right hand; but a fool’s heart at his left. Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences. There is an evil which I have seen under the …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 8, 2022

Today marks the birth of actor Kevin Bacon (born 1958.) Preppers usually associate him with the campy movie Tremors. Sadly, his co-star in that film, Fred Ward, recently passed away. — Today, I’m posting an update to a piece that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in 2005. — We are still seeking entries for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Since there haven’t been many articles submitted thusfar for this round, your chances of winning a prize are higher than usual. More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 101 …


Update: The Big Picture — Grid Up Versus Grid Down–Oil, Soil, and Water

The following is an update to an article that I posted in SurvivalBlog back in September of 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast: — Before selecting a retreat locale, It is crucial that you decide on your own worst-case scenario. A location that is well-suited to surviving a “slow-slide” grid up scenario (a la the deflationary depression of the 1930s) might not necessarily be well suited to a grid down situations. As stated in my post on August 15, 2005, a grid down situation will likely cause a sudden onset variation of TEOTWAWKI with a concomitant mass …


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 BRICS countries’ latest push toward a gold-backed currency. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: Putin suggests BRICS looking at new global reserve currency backed by hard assets. Notably, four of the five BRICS countries are major gold producers. (Only India is not in the Top 20 producers …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 7, 2022

July 7th, 1907 was the birthday of science fiction novelist Robert A. Heinlein. He passed away on May 8, 1988, at age 80. — Today, a feature article by SurvivalBlogs Founder and Senior Editor, James Wesley, Rawles (JWR) — We are urgently seeking entries for Round 101 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this 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 have …


Neo-Feudalism: Klaus Schwab, the WEF, and The Great Reset

The topic of this essay might seem a bit tangential to normal SurvivalBlog topics, but as I will explain, it falls into the category of “emerging threats.” Men have always sought to dominate and forcefully order the lives of others. This is part of human nature. It dates back to before the days of Noah. Early empires sought power and wealth, by conquest. Monarchies and feudalism dominated the Middle Ages in Europe, South Asia, and East Asia. Then, in a consolidation of monarchist power, colonialism was rampant from the 1550s to the 1950s. Only a few large and economically strong …


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 the weaponized politics.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Inflation acts as a gigantic corporate tapeworm. That tapeworm preemptively consumes its requisite daily diet of investment dollars regardless of the health of the host organism. Regardless of a company’s profits, it has to spend more on receivables, inventory, and fixed assets to simply equal the unit volume of the previous year. The less prosperous the enterprise, the greater the proportion of available sustenance claimed by the tapeworm. Asset-heavy businesses with meager returns on equity have no leftovers to spend on expanding, paying down debt, issuing dividends, or making acquisitions. The tapeworm of inflation simply cleans the plate.” – Warren …


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 6, 2022

July 6th is the anniversary of the 1994 Storm King Mountain wildfire that took the lives of 14 firefighters. Weather changes, resulting in 45 mph wind gusts, caused a modest wildfire to erupt into a blazing inferno, which threatened homes in and around the town of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Firefighters from around the country were called to assist in fighting this wildfire. We will never forget the young men and women who lost their lives battling this fire: Prineville (Oregon) Hotshots: Kathi Beck, Tamera Bickett, Scott Blecha, Levi Brinkley, Douglas Dunbar, Terri Hagen, Bonnie Holtby, Rob Johnson, Jon Kelso Missoula …


Canning Potatoes, by Patrice Lewis

If you remember, early in May I put up a blog post asking for reader input on canning potatoes. You all came through beautifully in sharing your wisdom.           Well, I just tried canning them myself, and what do you know … they came out very well. Ironically, the day I canned potatoes was a day I had absolutely no interest in canning. Our weather has done a great big celestial 180 degrees this week, and we went from cool and rainy to hot and dry. Who wants to can anything in hot weather? But I …



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. — I found this linked over at the Whatfinger news aggregation site: Peer-Reviewed Study Finds Young Moderna Jab Recipients Have a Jaw-Dropping 44X Higher Risk of Developing Myocarditis Than the Unvaccinated. o  o  o Reader D.S.V. sent this item: The Dutch Farmers’ Protest and the War on Food. Don’t miss this video from Holland, …