Year: 2024

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 some escalation in the Ukraine war. Further Ukraine War Escalation The leftist/globalist CNN reports: From a call with Putin to an experimental strike, a dramatic …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“We must recollect…what it is we have at stake, what it is we have to contend for. It is for our property, it is for our liberty, it is for our independence, nay, for our existence as a nation; it is for our character, it is for our very name as Englishmen, it is for everything dear and valuable to man on this side of the grave.” – William Pitt, House of Commons, July 22, 1803


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 27, 2024

On November 27, 1807 Portuguese Royal Family and eventually its court of nearly 15,000 people left Lisbon for their colony of Brazil to escape invading Napoleonic troops. — November 27th is the birthday of Ludwig Loewe (November 27, 1837 – September 11, 1886). He was a merchant, manufacturer, philanthropist, and a member of the German Reichstag. Loewe’s companies became involved in the production of armaments, employing famous designers and creating many notable guns. Ludwig Loewe Company of Berlin produced large numbers of Mauser bolt action rifles, most famously used in the Second Boer War. Since Loewe was Jewish, many Loewe-made …


Photovoltaic Power and Prepping – Part 2, by B.S.V.

(Continued from Part 1.) Question: How is my system size being determined? Question: How many hours per day of power production will I have? Here is where a little ‘art’ comes into all this ‘science’. Panels come in a few different sizes, usually around 325 to 425 Watts. The most common seems to be 400 Watts of generation. What they try to do is balance your usage with the size of panels. In the above case, it would take about 50 panels @ 400 watts per panel to equal the 19kW system (actually 20, but that is where the ‘art’ …


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. — Suspected killer who went on NYC stabbing spree confessed he picked victims because they were ‘alone,’ ‘distracted’: sources.  JWR’s Comment:  Nothing has done more to reduce the situational awareness of the American citizenry than the advent of “smart” phones. Particularly in the cities, you need to keep your head on the swivel. …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 26, 2024

November 26, 1778: British explorer Captain James Cook became the first European to visit Maui in the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). — And on November 26. 1922, English archaeologist Howard Carter opened Tutankhamun’s virtually intact tomb in Egypt. — November 26th is the birthday of both gun inventor Eugene Reising (born 1884, died February 21, 1967) and the late Barton Biggs (born 1932, died July 14, 2012). Biggs was a money manager known for his pro-preparedness stance. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 115 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round …


Photovoltaic Power and Prepping – Part 1, by B.S.V.

Preparedness comes in many shapes and sizes. Where we get a little extra complexity is when we have to prepare to prepare. I encountered this in one of my recent large endeavors, and found myself somewhat lacking. It worked out, but it could have gone smoother. Hopefully this article will help you avoid a similar situation. In a recent SurvivalBlog article, I discussed some strategies for using solar backup. Since then, my wife and I decided to move forward with setting ourselves up a bit better and entering the solar arena with a whole-house system. Before you think that this …


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, an update on the University of Idaho Kohberger murder trial. (See the Idaho section.) Region-Wide The Rural Areas Pushing for Divorce From Democratic Cities. o  o  o Reader D.S.V. mentioned this Fox News interview with the leader of the Greater Idaho organization: Rural counties in …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 25, 2024

On November 25, 1120, ‘The White Ship’ capsized near the Normandy coast while crossing the English Channel transporting many nobles, including William Adelin the grandson of William the Conqueror and heir to the English throne. About 300 others died. There was only one survivor. — We are pleased to welcome our newest advertiser: JASE Medical. They provide telemedicine and substantial supplies of prescription drugs. Their custom-packaged JASE Case prescription drug supply kit is ideal for preppers and anyone who lives or spends time in the backcountry. Just a short phone consultation is needed for them to approve your antibiotic and …


Ontario RAT 2 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

With a 3-inch, satin-finish, flat-ground, drop-point blade made out of AUS-8 stainless steel, an OD green nylon handle, and a cost of just $38.95 at Blade HQ at the time of this writing, the Ontario RAT 2 folding knife represents an excellent value for a solid, well-designed everyday carry (EDC) knife. This knife is one of my favorites in the under $50 price range. If you need a good EDC knife and don’t have a lot of the green stuff, this one is worth a second look. Background Back in 2021, I reviewed the Ontario RAT 1 model for SurvivalBlog. …


Recipe of the Week: Slow-Cooked Venison Stew

The following recipe for Slow-Cooked Venison Stew is from SurvivalBlog reader R.S.. This recipe requires both a dutch oven (or a large stew pot) and a crock pot slow-cooker. Ingredients 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds venison roast, cut into 1-2″ chunks 1 yellow onion, diced 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 tablespoons tomato paste ¼ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup of red wine 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 3 cups beef broth 2 cups water ½ teaspoon ground thyme 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons granulated sugar 2 bay laurel leaves 1 pound potatoes, cut …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic: How U.S. presidential votes shifted from 2020 to 2024. (Graphic courtesy of Graham Kates, CBS News. See the CBS site for the full zoomable version of the map as well as interactive exit poll data and analysis by Graham Kates.) 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.