Month: July 2024

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — July 13, 2024

On July 13th,1772 Captain James Cook began his second voyage to the South Seas aboard HMS Resolution to search for Terra Australis (Southern continent) — On this day in 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance structuring settlement of the Northwest Territory and creating a policy for the addition of new states to the nation. The Northwest Ordinance established the first organized US territory, set requirements for statehood – guaranteeing equal status with the original 13 states, outlawed slavery in the new lands, and protected civil liberties. The members of Congress knew that if their new confederation were to survive intact, …


Prepping and Squaring Away Rifles – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Once the barrel is worn, as a handloader, a new load can be developed to extend the service life by tuning a new load for this worn barrel. Swedish Mauser 6.5×55 barrels for a variety of factors continue to shoot well even with a worn barrel. I have one such example that still shoots minute of angle (MOA) with my handloads even though the throat is well eroded, or “worn out” by most standards. My best Swedish Mauser has a barrel that is almost pristine so it was sent to a professional …


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:

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — July 12, 2024

On July 12, 1191, during the Third Crusade, the city of Acre (modern-day Akko, Israel) surrendered to English King Richard I the Lionheart and the Crusaders after a siege of nearly two years. Pictured is one of Akko’s “Crusader” tunnels. — Today is the last day!!!  Because of a change in direction at Trident Media Group (my partner publisher) my novel Land Of Promise is going out of print in trade paperback. The last day of the sale (and of Amazon Print on Demand ordering capability) will be today, Friday, July 12, 2024. Thereafter, it may only be available as …


Prepping and Squaring Away Rifles – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

I am not writing much for SurvivalBlog these days, since I am busy preparing for the worst. This is fortunately my lifestyle, and I am constantly prepping. Currently, I’ve been working squaring away three old Mauser rifles for long-range work. They all need scopes and I had to wait until I could afford to get that done. I am an aging man with many physical limitations. My income is less than $5,000 per year. I receive no regular check from any source and so I am forced to operate under austere conditions and a super tight budget. If I cannot …


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, another examination of silver pricing. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: You may have noticed that after a recent excursion into the $29.50 per Troy ounce range, the price of spot silver has bounced back.  Early this week, it was very close to $31 per Troy ounce. And on Thursday morning (July 10, 2024) …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — July 11, 2024

On July 11, 1804, Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounded former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a pistol duel. — July 11th is the birthday of John Quincy Adams. — Just one more day!!!  Because of a change in direction at Trident Media Group (my partner publisher) my novel Land Of Promise will go out of print in trade paperback by Amazon.com. It is still priced at just $11.99 per copy. The last day of the sale (and of Amazon Print on Demand ordering capability) will be tomorrow, Friday, July 12, 2024. Thereafter, it …


Trump’s Return: Get Ready For Chaos To Be Unleashed, by Brandon Smith

Yeah, it’s happening. The last half of 2024 is shaping up to be one of the most politically insane in a century and the sparks are already flying. The biggest moment of absurdity so far might be the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, in which it was made abundantly clear for all the world to see that Biden is on the fast track to crazy town. We’ve been saying for four years that the guy is gone, a dementia case propped up and protected by the DNC and the media. Now, it’s undeniable: There’s a vegetable …


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 a new cybersecuity threat. Biggest Password Leak Ever: 10 Billion Credentials SurvivalBlog reader C.B. sent the link to this article at Mashable: This is likely …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 10, 2024

On July 10, 1913, the world’s official highest recorded temperature was recorded at Greenland Ranch (now known as Furnace Creek Ranch), Death Valley, California at 134°F (56.7 °C) — July 10, 1553, Lady Jane Grey, daughter of the Duke of Suffolk, proclaimed Queen of England, succeeding Edward VI, who had proclaimed his half-sisters illegitimate. She reigned for just nine days. — July 10th is the birthday of British novelist John Wyndham. (His full name was John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, but Harris shortened that to just John Wyndham for his pen name.) He we was born in 1903 and …


Stocking Up: OTC Medications – Part 2, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Cold, Flu, and Allergy Sudafed (pseudoephedrine hydrochloride 30 mg) is an oral tablet that is a nasal decongestant. Sudafed reduces sinus pressure by narrowing the blood vessels to decrease inflammation in nasal and sinus passages. It treats a symptom of the cold, allergies or flu. As a result of its misuse as a precursor for meth production, it is no longer available directly off the shelf and requires one to ask for it at a pharmacy counter. Sudafed elevates blood pressure–so don’t use if you already have high blood pressure. As a …


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. — We’ll start today with a note that Mike in Alaska sent, with the photo above: “Today I modified the power connectors for my SDR rig using all Anderson power pole connectors and built a BNC cable for the AX1 antenna for 20-meter and 17-meter use. The radio works great for digital applications. …