Day: January 17, 2026

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 17, 2026

January 17, 1746: In the Battle of Falkirk Muir, the Jacobites under Charles Stuart defeated Hanoverian forces. — And on January 17, 1950: The Great Brinks Robbery. 11 men robbed $1.2 Million in cash and $1.5 Million in securities from armored car company Brink’s offices in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1956, eight of the robbers were convicted and handed life sentences in prison. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 122 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …


Caltrops: Making Homemade Tire Spikes, by Joe. R.

Editor’s Introductory Warning: The devices described in this article can cause great bodily injury. We live in a highly litigious society. Employing caltrops in any situation other than a “Without Rule of Law” societal collapse would invite a lawsuit that could potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or perhaps even more than a million dollars in assessed damages, attorney fees, and court costs. There is also the potential for these to be stepped on inadvertently by family members, friends, pets, or livestock.  So, ONLY use them in absolute extremis, and only in a fenced-off area that will prevent the …


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:

“I Am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when …