Month: July 2024

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 20, 2024

On July 20th, 1969, At 10:56 p.m. EDT, American astronaut Neil Armstrong, 240,000 miles from Earth, spoke these words to more than a billion people listening at home: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Stepping off the lunar landing module Eagle, Armstrong became the first human to walk on the surface of the moon. — Today is the birthday of novelist Cormac McCarthy (born, 1933.) He is the author of the survivalist novel The Road, which later became a popular movie with the same title. — On July 20, 1793, Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie …


Rossi Survival Rifle in .45 Colt/.410 Gauge, by Thomas Christianson

Packing considerably more punch than the typical .22LR survival rifle, the Rossi Survival Rifle in .45 Colt/.410 Gauge is light, compact, rugged, and easy to use. It would be an excellent tool for taking medium-sized game out to about 75 yards or so. Beyond that range, the trajectory of the bullet from a .45 Colt cartridge begins to exhibit its bow-shaped arc, making accurate shooting more difficult. With a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $356.99 at the time of this writing at www.rossiusa.com, the rifle would make an excellent addition to the survival kit of a plane, boat, truck or other …


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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 19, 2024

On July 19, 1843, the steamship SS Great Britain was launched, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was the first ocean-going craft to feature an iron hull and a screw propeller. At the time, it was the largest vessel afloat in the world. — July 19th is coincidentally the birthday of handgun designers Samuel Colt (born 1814) and Gaston Glock. (Glock was born in 1929 and passed away in December, 2023.) — I just got some sad news: Lou Dobbs has passed away. My condolences to his family. — We are in need of entries to round out Round 113 …


A Pre-1899 Gun Investing Rationale

Introductory Note: I’d be remiss if I failed to mention that I have a considerable bias on this topic.  I own and operate Elk Creek Company — a side business selling pre-1899 guns and percussion black powder replicas. I’ve been dabbling in antique guns for more than 35 years. (Back in the 1990s, I operated Clearwater Trading Company, from my home near Orofino, Idaho.)  Despite my bias, I believe that what I’m recommending in this essay represents some ground truth. – JWR — Mark Twain was famous for once writing: “Buy land. Because they aren’t making it any more of …


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, more coverage of the bullish prices for precious metals. Precious Metals: Gold Soars To Record High As Stocks Do Something Not Seen Since Oct 1987. o  o  o The wild ride in precious metals prices continued this past week. Gold touched $2,488.10 on Wednesday morning. (July 17, 2024.) Prices were then slammed back down by …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 18, 2024

On July 18, 1572, the Provincial States of Holland recognized William I of Orange as Stadtholder of Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht at a gathering in Dordrecht — July 18th, 1954 was the birthdate of Ricky Skaggs, an American country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, mandocaster, and banjo. — Toiday’s feature article is a guest post by Hubert Moolman, selected by JWR.  It is reposted with permission. — We are in need of entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $900,000 worth of prizes …


Silver is Very Close to a Sustained Multi-Year Rally, by Hubert Moolman

Gold is one of the most reliable and accurate financial measures one can use. Historically, the Dow/gold ratio has provided a very good signal for silver bear and bull market cycles. Here is a long-term silver chart compared to a long-term Dow/gold ratio chart:       On the silver chart (the top trace in the chart), I’ve highlighted the significant Dow/gold ratio peaks with a blue line. In every case, silver made a significant bottom some years after the Dow/gold ratio peak. These were signals for the (then-coming) silver bull market.


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 Canada’s restrictive new gun laws. 11 Places That Will Pay You To Move There SurvivalBlog reader D.S.V. mentioned this article at  Clark.com: 11 Places That …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 17, 2024

On July 17, 1603, English explorer Walter Raleigh was arrested by forces of King James I of England. He was executed in 1618. — July 17th, 1889 was the birthdate of Erle Stanley Gardner. He was an American lawyer and author. Though best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories, he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces, as well as a series of nonfiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico. The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous …


Letter Re: Prepping and Squaring Away Rifles

Reader M.M. sent this letter, in response to the two-part article titled Prepping and Squaring Away Rifles, by Tunnel Rabbit: I would like to add my opinion to the recent article by Tunnel Rabbit (TR): I do not know how anyone [in the U.S.] can live on $5,000 per year. I understand that the purpose of the article was for an example of “getting by” on low income. He is making the best quality equipment he can on a low budget which shows that it can be accomplished. Let’s start with the AR rifle design. It is not perfect but …