Year: 2024

A Rifle is Not Enough – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) Suggested Low-Cost Replacement Parts Here are some suggested low-cost spares/replacement parts, available from Palmetto Stae Armory  (PSA): PSA Classic Lower Parts Kit, FDE PSA AR-15 Bolt Carrier Group 5.56 Full-Auto Nitride MPI – 516446953 $69.99 Everything but the lower receiver and parts associated with the lower half that includes the butt stock: PSA AR-15 Upper 5.56 16″ Carbine-Lgth 1:7 M4 Nitride MOE w/ Rear MBUS, BCG, & Charging Handle, $319.99 This might be the lowest-cost way to acquire all the replacement parts without buying an entire rifle. This blemished build kit has everything except the lower …


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 examine the Federal Reserve’s September 18th interest rate cut. Precious Metals: Gold price rallies to all-time high shy of $2,600 as Fed cuts 50 bps. Updates: Spot gold was at  $2,594.70 per Troy ounce on Thursday, in Asia. And silver jumped to $31.20. Platinum was also playing catch-up, rising to $1,004.50. (Up 1.4% in …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — September 19, 2024

On this day in 1796, George Washington‘s farewell address as US President was published. The full text of his speech is worthwhile reading. — On September 19th, 1778, the Continental Congress passed the first budget of the United States. While the budget may have passed, the states responded poorly to the call for taxes to fund the government, and the government resorted to printing paper money to cover debts. In effect, the first budget was a failure, due in large part to the states not responding to the demands of Congress and to the depreciation of fiat paper money. Are …


A Rifle is Not Enough – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Slings Bottom line, a sling is a necessary part of the rifle. But it should be detachable, to suit particular situations. For those on a budget, Com-Bloc rifle sling will suffice. These are inexpensive, ruggedly built, and with the right swivels work on just about any rifle. If you can do better, then please do. But when building up an arsenal I would economize where possible so that the budget can buy more spare magazines, replacement parts, and ammo. Gucci is nice, but it saps precious funds away from more important items we might be willing …


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 recent nation-state bombing incident. About Those Hezbollah Pager Bombs A well-publicized news story: What we know so far about the deadly pager explosions in …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — September 18, 2024

The Mukden False Flag Incident was orchestrated on September 18, 1931. To create a pretext for the invasion of Manchuria, China, a railway explosion was faked by the Japanese. — The 18th of September is Chilean Independence Day. On this day, in 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain. — We are now back at the ranch, so I’ve deactivated the “store vacation” mode, for Elk Creek Company.  I’m ready to take orders again.  Take a look at the dozens of antique guns and replica black powder guns that I’ve recently added to our inventory.  Thanks,  – JWR — SurvivalBlog Writing …


A Rifle is Not Enough – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) PM and the AR-15 Rifle: Failure is the Best Teacher As I’ve mentioned in a previous SurvivalBlog article, the first five ARs that I ever fired all failed. All five were in what appeared to be like new condition. Four of them failed due to a lack of lubrication. The fifth one was a new rifle that had yet to be test-fired. It turns out it was a home build that was sold through an FFL, a local retail store as if it was a factory build, yet the parts used were sub-standard and the builder …


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. — First up: Dollar stores getting crushed sends ominous signal about US economy: Consumers are ‘tapped out,’ expert warns. o  o  o Over at The Burning Platform: UN ‘Pact for the Future’: Digital IDs, Vaccine Passports, Massive Censorship. o  o  o Reader F.J. sent this article link: Hawaii man trapped in 15ft remote …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 17, 2024

Today, September 17th, we celebrate Constitution Day in these United States.  It was on September 17, 1787 that the US Constitution was signed by the delegates at the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. — September 17, 1156: Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa issued the ‘Privilegium Minus’ decree, which elevated Austria to a duchy. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 114 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 …


A Rifle is Not Enough – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

In this six-part article, I’ll be covering a few of the areas concerning the AR-15 that are often overlooked and do not receive enough attention. This is an attempt to bring some considerations to the attention of new shooters before it is too late to correct an oversight. While this article is decidedly AR-15 rifle-centric, there will be other rifle platforms and alternative ammunition types mentioned. Please be advised that I am not a trained professional and I have no formal weapons training or formal education of any kind and have never been in the military. I speak only as …


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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, some more details on the loss of American Redoubt resident Paul Harrell. (See the Central & Eastern Oregon section.) Idaho Change of Venue granted for Bryan Kohberger murder trial. JWR’s Comment:  They’ll be moving the trial somewhere down around Boise, I presume. That is a …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We can do things for ourselves or we can pay others to do them for us. These are the two systems that support us; we might call them the self-reliance system and the organisation system. All societies support themselves by a mixture of the two systems, but the proportions vary. Total self-sufficiency is as unbalanced and ultimately stultifying as total organisation. The pioneers show us what can be done, and it is for every one of us to decide what should be done, that is to say, what we should do to restore some kind of balance to our existence. …