Year: 2024

Rock River Arms LAR-BT3 in 6.5 Creedmoor, by Thomas Christianson

The Rock River Arms LAR-BT3 in 6.5 Creedmoor provides an accurate, well-crafted, and robust firearm with moderate recoil and a generous magazine capacity chambered for a versatile and highly effective cartridge. If you are looking for a semi-automatic rifle with more power than one chambered in 5.56 NATO, less recoil than one chambered in .308 Winchester, and a magazine capacity greater than 10 rounds, the LAR-BT3 in 6.5 Creedmoor might just hit the sweet spot for you.


Recipe of the Week: Chicken Stew with Kale and Butternut Squash

The following recipe for Chicken Stew with Kale and Butternut Squash is from SurvivalBlog reader D.G.. It serves four adults. This is a tasty stew with a distinctly smoky flavor. Ingredients 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 4 ounces (2 links) spicy chicken sausage, diced ½ Spanish onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 2½ teaspoons smoked paprika 1 teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon ground cumin 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional) One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I like to use fire-roasted tomatoes if available for extra smoky flavor.) ½ bunch of kale with center ribs removed, …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: Map showing Personal Income From Government Transfers (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Note that this includes government employee paychecks, military pensions, and Social Security. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         — Please send your graphic ideas to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — October 20, 2024

On October 20, 1906, Dr. Lee DeForest demonstrated his electrical vacuum tube. (Radio tube.) — October 20, 1803: U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase. — Today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading. — October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of the …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) This photo shows the area behind the stove that is about 18 inches away. It could have been safely installed at only 12 inches away, yet because there was the space available and to help improve the airflow at the closest point, 6 inches, this was a good use of the additional distance. In addition, we can see the welds around the stove pipe collar on the wood stove and the welds at the juncture of the lower half and the pan that supports the grate. The bottom of the stove becomes …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR, based on a suggestion from SurvivalBlog reader John H.: Meme Text: The Latest Tall Tale From Tampon Tim: “And Then There Was That Time That I Forced Those Tanks To Stop, On One Of My Many Trips To China…” News Links: Walz’s false claims on Tiananmen Square protests: What to know. NPR: Examining the fine line between lying about previous experiences and exaggerating. Dem VP candidate Tim Walz blames his passion for exaggerated service claims during CNN interview: ‘I speak candidly’. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews: Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; Which knew me …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — October 19, 2024

On October 19, 1926, John C. Garand patented his en bloc clip-fed semi-automatic rifle. Later, in refined form, this design was adopted as the U.S. M1 Garand rifle. — October 19th is the birthday of three notables: The late Alexander Zeisal “Zus” Bielski (born 1912), investor Jim Rogers (born 1942), and James Howard Kunstler (born 1948). Kunstler is well known to SurvivalBlog readers as the author of the novel World Made by Hand and the nonfiction book The Long Emergency. A fictionalized portrayal of Zus Bielski is seen in the movie Defiance. This movie was loosely based on the excellent …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) Army Tent Stove Modifications As the M1941/H-45 assembles with one half that sits on top of the lower half to make it ready to use. It can be made about 8 inches lower in height of its is assembled size for transport as one half can sit inside the other. The H-45 when assembled uses 3 nut and bolt attachment points on the outside of the stove to secure the pan to the top half. This is a worthwhile improvement as it would be possible to knock the top half off should some take a hard …


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:

“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — October 18, 2024

On October 18, 1009, the 500-year-old Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who ordered the church’s foundations to be hacked down to the bedrock. According to the InfoGalactic Wiki: “Al-Hakim’s son allowed Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos to reconstruct the church, which was completed in 1048. After it was captured by the Crusaders in 1099, it continued to undergo modifications, resulting in a significant departure from the original structure.” — October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry. (He died 22 June 1714.) He was a Presbyterian minister who lived …


U.S. Military Tent Stoves – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Operating the M1941 In Extreme Weather I’ve found that the M1941 at -30F will provide adequate heat for a cabin that is not insulated and that is no more than 300 square feet in size. It will keep you comfortable and the water in the plumbing flowing if those pipes are exposed to the cabin’s interior. It will burn 6 to 8 loads of wood every 24 hours at that temperature depending on the type of wood used and how it was processed or split. One load of wood will fill a 6-gallon plastic bucket. Larger …


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 the Biden Administration’s LNG Export Ban. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: Spot gold jumped to $2,708.70 per Troy ounce on Thursday morning, in Asian trading. That was another all-time high. And on Wednesday, spot silver briefly touched $32.40. Although there may be some short-term profit-taking, I expect to see gold in …