Month: April 2023

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 12, 2023

April 12th is the birthday of the late novelist Tom Clancy. (Born 1947, died October 1, 2013). It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre, with his first novel, The Hunt For Red October. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 …


Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Antennas, Expedient Techniques, and Construction Methods A radio tech should be sure to have several SWR meters, one of which is for the 11-meter band, and have the ability to improvise and construct antennas of all kinds — even if it is only a dipole.  For CB, an expedient 1/2 wave dipole (216-inches long) made from coaxial cable propagates much better than a 52″ long 1/8-wave ground plane CB antenna. CBs have a very long radio wave as compared to UHF/VHF radio and thus require much taller and larger antennas to propagate to their full potential.  …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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. — Please continue to pray for the full restoration of health, for Pat Cascio. His recovery from a stroke has been difficult. o  o  o The two most recent gender-confused mass shootings have the liberals in full-fledged screaming “do something!” mode. I suspect that will come in the form of a raft of …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 11, 2023

April 11th is the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, and Flight of the Intruder. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a vaguely anti-war commentary laced with references to reincarnation). Milius also co-wrote the screenplay for Jeremiah Johnson. Milius is my favorite Hollywood writer and director, in …


Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Long-term survival necessarily requires a community that can sustain itself.  As I have no family, I am more focused on this objective than those who must be concerned with a family to feed.  However, this topic should be of more concern to those with progeny to consider.  Without a plan in place and in action now, we might as well be planning to fail. A plan, any plan, is better than no plan.  The process of continually planning is also more important than any one plan,  As a rule, we should be continually be assessing a changing environment and discovering …


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, a report of heavy April snowfall in Casper, Wyoming. (See the Wyoming section.) Region-Wide Wallowa County voters respond to ‘Greater Idaho’ ahead of May election. o  o  o Oregon residents may secede over ‘east-west’ political divide: ‘Not a unified state to me anymore’. o  o  …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 10, 2023

In its third year of operation, the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine Thresher (SSN-593) tragically went down 60 years ago today, with the loss of all hands: 129 men. April 10, 1827 was the birthday of General Lew Wallace. April 10th, 1796 was the birthday of James Jim Bowie, who died March 6th, 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo. — A reminder:  For anyone who is interested in investing in a recession-proof business, the Harvest Guard canning lids plastics company is being offered for sale. — Today’s feature article is a review written by the SurvivalBlog staff’s Field Gear Editor …


Siege Stove Titanium Gen 4 Flat-Pack, By Tom Christianson

The appetizing aroma of roasting venison wafted enticingly from the twig stove in front of me. The sound of sizzling meat coming from the folding grill on the top of the stove reinforced the attraction. I rotated the grill from time to time to allow the venison steaks to cook evenly on each side. After about 20 minutes, the steaks appeared to be fully cooked. I removed the folding grill from the stove, opened it, and cut one of the steaks with my EDC knife to make sure it was fully cooked. It proved to be well-done. I used my …



JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: If Inflation is Under Control… Then Why Does Their Acronym Keep Getting Longer and Longer? News Links:  Ontario NDP urges legal protections for drag shows. You never thought totalitarianism would look like this. 2SLGBTQQIA+ people are ‘running out of letters’ JWR’s Comment:  When a country’s law reaches the point where it criminalizes making “harmful remarks” about perversion, then the law and the nation itself has become truly perverted.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both 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 the Odds ‘n …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of …