Month: November 2023

Useful Christmas Gifts, by Hollyberry

It is that time of the year again and what do you get the homesteader/prepper who has everything? I love giving gifts and I try to give gifts that are mainly useful or serve a purpose. Of course, I add some extra nonfunctional items, like houseplants or decorative doodads, for close family and friends and I like to think outside the box. Even if someone is not necessarily a prepper or homesteader you can always give something that can be useful. I am just throwing out some ideas of gifts that I have received and given that were big hits! …


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, another look at the mass media’s mischaracterizations of prepping — now often AI-generated. Britain’s Prepper Shops In the UK Guardian: ‘People are worried’: the ‘prepper’ shops serving Britons …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 22, 2023

On November 22, 1943, Lebanon proclaimed its independence from France; however, it did not become wholly independent until 1946. — Sixty years ago today, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. — On November 22, 1718, the pirate Blackbeard was killed off the coast of North Carolina. — Today is remembered as the birthday of the late Eugene M. Stoner. (Born 1922, died April 24, 1997.) He was the designer of the AR-7, AR-10, AR-15, AR-180, the Stoner 63, and several other firearms. (The AR-10 was the basis of the AR-15 which in turn spawned the very widely …


Aviation Prepping – Part 2, by Sky Captain

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) Here are a few simplistic reasons why having an aviation capability would be a useful investment: Flying allows one to mitigate the surface threat. In the early stages of TEOTWAWKI, moving on the surface of the earth will be very dangerous. Roads will be choked with vehicles that are out of fuel. Dangerous people will be setting traps to waylay unsuspecting travelers and relieve them of their valuables. The last remnants of government control will have soldiers checking for travel documents. Even the simplest aircraft will allow one to fly outside the …


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. — Gun Ownership by State (2023 Statistics). JWR’s Comments:  It is not surprising to see so many of the American Redoubt states at the top of this list.  If the counties in eastern Oregon and eastern Washington were considered separate states, then they would surely rank nearly as high. o  o  o SurvivalBlog’s …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day: 

“The most terrifying force of death comes from the hands of Men who wanted to be left Alone. They try, so very hard, to mind their own business and provide for themselves and those they love. They resist every impulse to fight back, knowing the forced and permanent change of life that will come from it. They know, that the moment they fight back, their lives as they have lived them, are over. The moment the Men who wanted to be left alone are forced to fight back, it is a form of suicide. They are literally killing off who …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 21, 2023

On this day in 1620, 41 male passengers on the Mayflower, prior to landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts, signed the Mayflower Compact, by which they agreed to abide by the laws of the new government they would establish. — On November 21, 1916, Britannic, the sister ship to the Titanic, sank in the Aegean Sea, killing 30 people. In the wake of the Titanic disaster, the White Star line had made significant modifications to the design of the ship, but on its way to pick up wounded soldiers near the Gulf of Athens, it was rocked by an explosion causing even …


Aviation Prepping – Part 1, by Sky Captain

Max Rockatansky, the hero of the Mad Max movie series, accomplished the seemingly impossible, including single-handedly thwarting a diabolical biker gang, safeguarded a developing community from marauders, bested Master-Blaster, rescued a group of feral children, and liberated Immortan Joe’s harem. However, as fate would have it, the tables were turned on him by a near-sighted weakling and his young child. Recall the moment when Max was knocked off his rig and left to wander the wasteland until he stumbled upon Bartertown? The reason why Jedidiah and his son were able to best Max? They were able to fly. Having a …


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, we focus on Idaho’s Anti-Litter Campaign. (See the Idaho section.) Region-Wide A British journalist interviewed me, for this fairly-well balanced and fairly lengthy article over at UnHerd: Inside The American Redoubt. o  o  o We generally pay very little attention to sports in SurvivalBlog, but …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The prosecutors have all the power. Not even the judge has discretion, because lawmakers have mostly taken that liberality away in the name of cracking down on crime. This happened all through the 1980s and 1990s, and the prosecutorial dictatorship has entrenched itself to become the norm since 2001. For the last ten years, the police state has had free rein.” – Lew Rockwell, as quoted in “The Police State Abolishes the Trial”, (30 September 2011), by L.H. Rockwell, Mises Daily


Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 20, 2023

On November 20, 1917, for the first time, tanks were used effectively in warfare, by the British at the Battle of Cambrai. — We’ve now reached the milepost of 38,000 archived feature articles, columns, and quotes in our archives. SurvivalBlog has been posted with daily fresh content since 2005.  The archives are searchable and freely available. I invite any new SurvivalBlog readers to delve into the archives, to find subjects of interest. If you have just found SurivalBlog, then begin with our Quick-Start Guide for Preparedness Newbies. — Because one of our writing contest sponsors is shifting their business to …


Ruger M77 Hawkeye African in 6.5x55mm Swedish, by Thomas Christianson

A half-century ago, in the days of my youth, most rifles had wood furniture, blued steel, and iron sights. In those days of long ago, the 6.5x55mm Swedish cartridge had already had a long and storied career, having been first adopted in 1894 by the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. In the years that followed, it was used to hunt elephants in Africa, to hunt moose in Scandinavia, and to resist the German invasion of Norway. The strengths of the cartridge were so significant, that it is prominently featured in the plot of Stephen Hunter’s novel, The Bullet Garden. …


Recipe of the Week: Salted Caramel Pear Butter 

The following recipe for a home-canned Salted Caramel Pear Butter is from SurvivalBlog reader Connie S.  It can be home-canned. Ingredients 4 lbs. Pears, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped 1/3 cup apple cider 2 Tbsp. bottled lemon juice 2-1/2 cups dark brown sugar: Be sure to use the dark variety. 2 tsp. Sea salt or kosher salt Directions Mix one tablespoon citric acid with warm water. Peel and core pears, keep them in the citric acid mixture. This will keep the pears from turning brown while you work. When all pears are peeled they can be stored in the citric …


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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at rising credit card balances and default rates. (See the Economy & Finance section.) Precious Metals: At Gold-Eagle.com: Gold: The Chickens Come Home to Roost. o  o  o Mike Gleason, at Gold-Eagle.com: Fed Continues Tough Talk; Silver & Platinum Look Most Undervalued. Economy & Finance: Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Commentator Game …