Year: 2024


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 21, 2024

On July  21, 1853, Central Park in New York created when the New York State Legislature set aside more than 750 acres of land on Manhattan Island. — July 21st is also the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He committed suicide on July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, after being diagnosed with haemochromatosis, and after electroshock treatments failed to lift him from chronic alcoholic depression. He lived a sad life but was a great writer. — We are in need of a few more entries for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


2024 Political Shockwaves: Election Year Turmoil

With each successive election cycle in the 21st Century, Americans seem to be growing more divided and more strident. This political divisiveness has spilled over into popular culture, movies, and even rifts in some religious denominations. College and university campuses have become flashpoints for large protests. Policing and prosecutions at the federal level – and in some coastal states – have become overtly politicized and weaponized.  Each passing year, there is less and less “common ground.”  People seem to have been grouped into diametrically opposed camps. And, as I’ve mentioned before in SurvivalBlog, a geographic self-sorting is also underway, and …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: Getting Just a Graze Was a Miracle He Must Have Invested in Miracle Ear Stock News Link: Trump adviser: It’s ‘miraculous’ former president turned his head ‘at the right moment to avoid the bullet’ Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.  


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.