Month: May 2023

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 6, 2023

May 6th is the birthday of Tuvia Bielski. (Born 1906, died 1987.) You may remember him as the main character in the movie Defiance, portrayed by Daniel Craig. This movie was based on the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec. — 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 …


AR-15 Setup and Maintenance – Part 2, by John Smith

(Continued from Part 1.) Ammunition For Your Rifle Ammunition selection is an important topic to discuss. M193 55gr  5.56mm NATO ammunition was the early military-issue ammunition. Back then, M16 rifles had 20” barrels and the 55gr bullet did devastating damage yawing and tumbling after the initial impact. However, after the 20” barrel was retired for the 14.5-inch M4 barrel, the effectiveness of the 55gr M193 decreased. This was due to the decreased muzzle velocity from a much shorter barrel on the newer variants of the M16. I have no problem with using 55gr ammo. However, I would suggest using at …


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:

“Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 5, 2023

This is the birthday of Pat Frank (1908-1964). This was the pen name of newspaper journalist Harry Hart Frank. His novel Alas, Babylon is a survivalist classic. His personal life was marred by alcoholism, but his writing is admired and still surprisingly popular, today. (Alas, Babylon is still in print, after 64 years!) As an homage to Pat Frank, one of the settings in my novel Expatriates is Mt. Dora, Florida, which was fictionalized by Pat Frank as Fort Repose in Alas, Babylon. — Perhaps of interest to survivalists, the new Silo television series will begin streaming today (May 5, …


AR-15 Setup and Maintenance – Part 1, by John Smith

The AR-15 family of guns has become “America’s Rifle” over the period of almost 60 years. Over time, the rifle has seen many changes and refinements. Now that there are so many choices, prospective buyers and users could use some determining what choices are best for them. This article has four sections covering: rifle configurations/parts selection, ammunition, rifle accessories, and rifle cleaning/maintenance. Hopefully, you will find some of the information below helpful. Rifle configurations and Parts selection The first thing to decide is whether you want to build or buy a rifle. If you are on a strict budget, definitely …


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. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, a further examination of the developing global banking crisis. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: Spot silver is looking quite bullish, up more than 5% for the week to $26.29 per Troy ounce, as of Thursday afternoon. o  o  o An interview with Jeffrey Tucker: The Fed is Trapped: This Recession Will Be …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 4, 2023

May 4th is informally known as “Star Wars Day”, because of a silly play on words: “May The Fourth Be With You.” May 4th 1943: A patent for helicopter controls was obtained by Igor Sikorsky. Sikorsky invented fixed-winged and multi-engined aircraft, transoceanic flying boats and helicopters. On May 4, 1415, reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance. The death of Hus inspired the later Hussite revolution in Bohemia. — I just read that Ready Made Resources — an advertiser that has been with us since SurvivalBlog’s launch —  is running a special …


Gifts for Sojourners, by K.R.

As I reflected on the results of the SurvivalBlog poll that suggested topics for essays, one suggestion stood out: “Preparing give-away bags for wanderers.” (Good job, whoever made this suggestion.) I bring no special qualifications except for years of fine-tuning my go-bag and bartering inventory–and some time for reflection. After all, a barter list, a go-bag list, and give-away bag inventory would likely have some overlap in contents. Addressing this topic is a reminder that overstocking certain supplies is a good idea for all of us, regardless of which of these three reasons for which these items end up being …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, we look at Switzerland’s extensive bunker infrastructure. Why Switzerland Has 374,142 Bunkers A fascinating half-hour YouTube video: Why Switzerland Has 374,142 Bunkers (and likely more). Full Disclosure: NordVPN …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“At times like the present, when the evils of unsound finance threaten us, the speculator may anticipate a harvest gathered from the misfortune of others, the capitalist may protect himself by hoarding or may even find profit from the fluctuations of values, but the wage earner – the first to be injured by a depreciated currency – is practically defenseless.” – President Grover Cleveland


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 3, 2023

May 3rd, 1952 was the birthday of Pastor Chuck Baldwin. He has done yeoman service in promoting the American Redoubt movement. — I just heard that Canada’s troubadour Gordon Lightfoot has passed away at the age of 84. — 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 …


March 2023 Snow Storm & Power Outage, by Rocky Hill

The following is an after-action report. Situation We are a couple in our mid-sixties living in our retirement (retreat) home in the south central U. S. We retired and moved from a very “blue” northern state with an eye toward living more safely in uncertain times. As a result, our house was built with some features that could help us when living gets “interesting. “ We live in a rural area, on a dead-end road with about nine neighbors. We have occasionally experienced power outages but to this point they have only been short term, one to four hours in …


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. — Video with some good advice from Austin-based building contractor Matt Risinger: Three Generator Pro Tips (from a mini-Prepper). o  o  o Reader Ron M. suggested a brief, informative video describing NIJ body armor levels. o  o  o T.M. forwarded this news link: General Mills Announces Recalls For Bleached, Unbleached Gold Medal Flour. …