Wood Cookstove Bargains. Happy People: A Year In The Taiga.

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.

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We’ll start off with this: United Van Lines 46^thAnnual National Movers Study Reveals Where and Why Americans Moved in 2022. JWR’s Comments: I must mention that one glaring error can be found in this report’s discussion of Oregon. It states: “We’re also seeing younger Millennials migrating to vibrant, metropolitan economies, like Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon.” There is actually now an exodus from the Portland metro area. The city of Portland is losing population and downtown businesses. Meanwhile, the lower Willamette Valley, Rogue River Valley, central Oregon, and eastern Oregon are gaining population. A lot of those newcomers are conservatives from northwestern Oregon. The “younger Millennials” that they mention are a backfill, only partially offsetting the much larger headlong rush out of Portland.

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NY red flag law ruled unconstitutional. (Thanks to B.G. for the link.)

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Reader Jason W. wrote:

“I recently watched the documentary film Happy People: A Year In The Taiga. If you haven’t seen it it is entertaining and worthwhile. I found it free on the Tubi app. It follows a village in the taiga for a year and covers a number of useful skills. They show how to make deadfall traps, skis, mosquito repellent, and other practical things. It also shows people are the same wherever you go. I really enjoyed it.”

JWR Adds: I just checked, and found that this great documentary is also available at LookMovie, which does not require a subscription.

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A fine essay from Victor Davis Hanson, posted over at American Greatness: The Coup We Never Knew. (Our thanks to Tim J. for the link.)

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St. Funogas sent this:

“With SurvivalBlog supporter Seeds for Security’s sale going on right now, I thought I’d put a plug in for their seeds based on a good experience with them in the 2022 growing season. After winning one of their prizes in the SurvivalBlog writing contest, I went to their website and found that aside from a catalog, there’s a blog with stories, product reviews, and recipes as well as information on storing heritage seeds we harvest from our gardens.

They’re more than just a company that sells survival seed collections, they also sell seeds by the packet. They not only have better pricing than their larger competitors, more importantly they have many more seeds per packet. On their green beans for example, competitors offer 50 seeds per packet at $3.25-$4.00+ while Seed for Security has 150 seeds per packet at $2.95. I’ve bought seeds from other heritage seed companies and on too many varieties I’ve had to grow the plants for at least a year just to build up enough seed to do a halfway decent trial. As an example, the Indian corn from Seed for Security not only gave me enough corn to make a year’s worth of cornmeal but more than enough seed to grow an even larger crop next year. It was especially fun to see what surprise there’d be when shucking the ears, waiting to see what color combinations would be underneath.

Most of us would agree that it’s important to support not only products made in America, but in my opinion it’s equally important to support all the little guys who are trying to compete with the giant heritage seed companies. It’s especially important to support SurvivalBlog’s advertisers to keep all those annoying ads, which every other blog on the internet is overrun with, from detracting from our daily reading experience.

So take a look at their website. They offer much more than just survival seed collection packages.”

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Reader C.B. liked this instructional video: Home Made Body Armor For Under $50 Tested? Becoming Ungovernable.

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Mark X. wrote to mention the folks stranded for days in their cars, in the Buffalo, New York blizzard, and how they suffered, for lack of planning ahead by carrying sleeping bags, and food. He noted:

“There are several companies that sell SOLAS food bars designed for extreme weather and generally good for five years of shelf life.”

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Two charged with attacks on four power substations in Washington state.

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Tracy M. spotted this news: An Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Has Passed the House. Here’s What The Bill Says, and What’s Next. Tracy’s comment: “Of course this was voted on in the middle of the night.”

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From D.S.V: The Devil Is in the Details: Here Are the Concessions McCarthy Made to Take the Speaker’s Gavel. JWR’s Comments: Sadly, the genuine liberty-loving conservative Republicans in the House are outnumbered by the RINOs. I predict that McCarthy and his cronies will try to eventually weasel their way out of all of those concessions. The Deep State is so deeply entrenched in D.C. that even party lines mean little to them. It is all about corruption, cronyism, and the continuity of control by “The Club“. Term limits are the only way to solve this problem, but the Deep Staters would never agree to any such reforms.

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Bob B. spotted this article: Russian soldier gave away his position with geotagged social media posts.

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Reader Mike M. wrote:

“About 10 years ago I was at a local gun show and saw an original Armalite AR-7 .22 survival rifle. Neat little gun compact, lightweight, stores in a waterproof stock. It was only $125 so I bought it. I have always considered the .22 a great caliber for a carry along survival rifle when you do not want to expose your location with a loud rifle noise. There are numerous low-noise .22 cartirdges available, or you can shoot shorts in some models. After getting home I assembled the gun and set up a test target about 15 yards away. The target was a paper plate and I took a rest on a pole. I guess I have never witnessed such shoddy sights on a rifle in my life. I have seen better sights on kids’ BB guns. I adjusted the sight several times because it was difficult to hit the target. The end result was a complete failure as to the name, “survival rifle”. Ha.. you could not hit a rabbit or squirrel with that rifle unless it was at your feet. This rifle is still being made under another manufacturer and I have not shot that one, but it appears to be an exact [mechanical] copy of the Armalite AR-7. I have several .22s and one of my favorites is an iron-sighted Browning automatic in .22 Short. It breaks down and transports easily. It is extremely accurate out to 35 yards before the bullet begins to drop off. There are other options, such as suppressors but they usually add a few pounds to a gun.

So, if any of your young readers are considering a .22 as a carry-along, I suggest doing a lot of research on the rifle’s accuracy because you cannot eat what you cannot hit. It has been my experience that most .22 pistols are not accurate enough and are too loud for a sidearm. I have a target-type .22 pistol that will get the job done but I would not waste my time with a pistol compared to a rifle. My test for accuracy on a .22 is shooting 1” to 1.5” groups at 20 – 25 yards. Be sure and test all your guns before depending on them in an emergency because when you are hungry bad shooting is common.”

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D.S.V. sent this from RealClearScience: How Did EVs Handle America’s Arctic Blast?

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Another from D.S.V.: Arrest In Idaho Murders Is A Reminder That Your DNA Is Not Private Or Safe.

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Kyle T. wrote:

“For the last few years, I’ve been picking up old wood cookstoves on Craigslist. These are a hedge against bad times. In a prolonged grid-down event, being able to use an old Monarch cook stove to cook with will be like owning a Ferrari. I’m buying them for both future bartering but also some for donation to the local church body. In tandem with this, I’ve been stocking up on 6″ stove pipe, elbows, chimney jacks, furnace putty, brushes, and other assorted supplies for wood cook stoves and wood heating stoves. (Lowe’s has the best deal on pipe and supplies.) I pick up wood heat stoves as well. I plan on having operational wood cook stoves and wood heat stoves in each of our outbuildings on our property when the excrement hits the fan. These buildings are going to be converted into housing for family and friends. We might become modern ‘Waldensians” soon. (Pre-Reformation brothers and sisters in Christ living in the rugged Alps.)

I have to share about the amazing Craigslist deals I got last summer. I got a Heartland Sweetheart wood cook stove for $700! It had hardly been used. The new owners of a house wanted it gone. The company is no longer in business but you can find them for around $3,800 to $5,000 dollars. Soon after that, I picked up a Quadrafire wood cook stove for $100 which retails for $3,000. It was in new condition and the people were doing a house remodel and wanted it gone. Vigilance is the key to using Craigslist. And, using Craigslist is the ultimate “force multiplier”.

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Reader C.B. sent us this: Good hydration linked to healthy aging.

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Green comet will pass by Earth for first time since Neanderthals roamed Earth.