Month: March 2024

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 mountain lion attack. Mountain Lion Attack Kills 21-Year-Old in California A Fox News article linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Mountain lion attack kills 21-year-old man, …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 27, 2024

On Good Friday, March 27th, 1964, south-central Alaska was struck by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake that was the strongest quake ever registered in the United States. — Today’s feature article was too short for consideration in the judging in Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. — More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 111 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. …


What Would Robinson Crusoe Get at WalMart?, by A.B.B.

Let’s suppose that you are Robinson Crusoe at TEOTWAWKI. If you have one last opportunity to go to a store, then what would you get? Where would you get it? Bic Ligters? Vitamin C tablets? Water purifiers? Your answers to these questions will predetermine your actions on TEOTWAWKI. My wife and I have decided to each carry cash, a 1 oz gold Krugerrand coin on our persons and twenty dollars face value of 90% junk silver in our book bags for the foreseeable future. If or when something hits, minimally the credit card systems will go down. Cash will become …


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. — From reader G.G.: The Best Multi-Tool for Every Job. o  o  o Department Of Justice Announces “Federal Red Flag Center” Shortly After Omnibus Passes, Congressman Says. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.) o  o  o Reader C.B. sent this: FCC launches crackdown on signal jammers sold by Amazon, others. o  …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 26, 2024

On March 26th, 1913, Dayton, Ohio was almost destroyed when the Scioto, Miami, and Muskingum Rivers reached flood stage simultaneously. On March 26th, 1812, an earthquake now estimated at 7.7 on the Richter scale destroyed 90% of Caracas, Venezuela and killed an estimated 15,000–20,000 people. And, on March 26th, 1995: The Schengen Treaty went into effect. — There are several interesting new listings at SurvivalRealty.com.  They include: 10 Acre Homestead – North Dakota. Cumberland Mountain Getaway With Acreage. Southern Oregon Creekfront Mini-Farm and Home. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


The Deuce and a Half as a BOV, by B.F. 

I am often amused at the articles in both mainstream publications and in the preparedness press that talk about using surplus military vehicles as “bug out vehicles” (BOVs). Sometimes these vehicles are basically stock, other times they are highly customized packages priced at $100,000 or more. In any event, I believe they are off the mark in their suggestions, although they do make for enjoyable reading. Now don’t get me wrong, I like surplus military vehicles. I own (or have owned) several including an M35A2 Deuce and a Half with winch. an M818 semi-tractor, an M1009 CUCV, an M998 HMMWV, …


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 the impact of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. (See the Region-Wide section.) Region-Wide This recent Dr. Steve Turley segment discusses the American Redoubt movement in general, and Pastor Doug Wilson in Moscow, Idaho, in particular: Leftists Freak Out as Patriots Build a …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 25, 2024

On March 25, 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned Scottish king at Scone. He freed Scotland from English rule, winning the decisive Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and confirming Scottish independence in the Treaty of Northampton (1328). — This is the birthday of English film director David Lean. He was born in Croydon, England in 1908. He died in 1991. He is best known for his films Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai and Doctor Zhivago. — National Medal of Honor Day is officially observed on March 25th of each year. — GunMag Warehouse (one of our original …


Spüt Reactive Targets, by Thomas Christianson

Reactive targets can significantly enhance firearms training. They accomplish this by providing immediate feedback and by creating greater interest by making the training process more entertaining. Immediate feedback enhances firearms training by establishing a closer tie between the shooters’ actions and the results of their actions. For example, imagine that someone shoots three rounds at a paper target. He then examines the paper, and sees that two of the shots hit near the point of aim, while the third did not. It may be difficult for the shooter to determine which of his three shots was the one which did …


Recipe of the Week: Rice Omelet

The following simple recipe for Rice Omelet is from Good HouseKeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (253 pages, copyright 1925, now in public domain). That is one of the 11 bonus books included in the 2005-2023 edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. Ingredients 4 eggs 1/4 teaspoonful paprika 1 teaspoonful salt 1/2 cupful cooked rice 1/8 teaspoonful pepper 2 tablespoonfuls chili sauce 2 tablespoonfuls bacon fat Directions Beat the yolks of the eggs until lemon-colored; add the seasoning, rice, and chili sauce. Mix well and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and turn into a …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic is an ad that ran in gun magazines in the early 1960s. It certainly illustrates the ravages of mass currency inflation. Notably, if anyone living in 1965 set aside either guns or silver coins minted before 1965, they would have kept up with inflation fairly well. It is mostly paper currency and electronic “dollars” on deposit that have suffered inflation — not our tangibles. It is fitting that this graphic illustration of inflation is being posted on April 1st — April Fool’s Day.  Most Americans keep getting fooled by inflation and the alleged “money” in their wallets.  The …