Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 21, 2025

On August 21, 1689, during the Jacobite Uprising, the Battle of Dunkeld was fought in Scotland between supporters of King James VII of Scotland and troops of William of Orange. The illustration above was by Richard Simkin (1840-1926). It is titled: The Earl of Angus’ Regiment (The Cameronians) at the Defence of Dunkeld, 1689.  Simkin was an artist best known as an illustrator for the Army and Navy Gazette and the Boy’s Own Magazine.  He also produced some artwork for recruiting posters, under contract from the War Office. His heyday was from 1890 to 1905. Take note that if his …




An Everyday Pellet Gun, by Lodge Pole

Where I grew up, we called them pellet guns, not pellet rifles or air rifles. I am by no means a pellet gun expert. Nearly all of my experience is with a single-shot, break-action pellet gun. The knowledge and advice I offer in this article is solely based on my experience and familiarity of single-shot, break-action pellet guns. Depending on your age, physical build and desired purpose of use, pellet gun actions vary, though in application, the concept remains the same. There is an option for everyone. About twenty years ago, I was camping with a friend who had a …




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 saber-rattling in Venezuela. Venezuela Mobilizing Millions in Its Militia Reported on Wednesday by the leftist Time: 4,000 Troops and 4,500,000 Militiamen: What to Know About …