Year: 2026

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 25, 2026

On April 25, 1644, the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself from a tree on Jing Mountain, Beijing, rather than be captured by the forces of Li Zicheng, the Chinese peasant rebellions leader — who soon after ruled over northern China briefly as the Yongchang Emperor. Thus ended the Ming Dynasty. — Today is the birthday of physicist, inventor, and entrepreneur Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937). He was known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission as well as for the development of Marconi’s law and a radio telegraph system. He is often considered the inventor of radio. — Just a …


Simple and Proven Ham Radio Antenna Construction, by Hoofer

As a public service, I’d like to share my ham radio antenna designs with SurvivalBlog readers. We handed out these antenna-building diagrams, free of charge, at Hamfests.  We sell laminated copies of wall charts and pocket band charts. Below, I am including drawings for Fan Dipoles and OMTA Verticals. (The original idea was Robert Wilson, a nice guy, we shared several ideas, but, after improving on his “math-inspired idea”, we designed and built many iterations of a more practical design.)  For the Fan Dipoles we sell a kit without wire, or a complete build.  Please note that the Fan Dipole …


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:

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things. Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 24, 2026

On April 24, 1913, the Woolworth Building was opened in New York City by Frank Winfield Woolworth. It was completed at a cost of $13.5 million. At 792 feet, it was then the world’s tallest building. It is pictured above (at center) in 1965. — April 24, 1944: The first Boeing B-29 arrived in China after flying “Over The Hump”. — And on April 24,1990 STS-31 was launched. It was the 35th mission of the US Space Shuttle program. It  carried the Hubble Space Telescope. — Today we present a short guest article by our friend Hub Moolman, of South …


Silver Prices Will Still Go Much Higher, by Hubert Moolman

Silver is trying to get back into this important channel previously pointed out:       (Click to expand.) This puts the current bull market in a similar position to 2004 in the previous bull market. In other words, it is still very early in this bull market. If you consider the current bull market structure in this context, then it should be apparent that silver prices are currently not as overextended as many may think. It would be like saying silver at $5.60 in 2004 was overpriced. Silver is currently only about 58% higher than its 1980 peak (the …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers. The public domain photo above of drought-cracked clay soil was taken by Bert Kaufman. Economics & Investing Links of Interest UBS Warns Drought Shock Unfolding Across Breadbasket Of America World Silver Survey, 2026 Aluminum Market Descends Into Supply ‘Black Hole’ Are Credit Card Numbers Going Away? War turns sulphur market toxic in acid supply shock. Uranium Supply Crunch Worsens Amid Kazakhstan’s Plan For Strategic Reserve. Andurand’s “Hedge” Fund Lost 52% In First Two Weeks Of April On …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 23, 2026

On April 23, 1014, the army of King Brian Boru of Ireland defeated Viking forces at the Battle of Clontarf, freeing Ireland from Viking control. (The imaginative painting above was rendered by Hugh Frazer, 1826.) — And on this day in 1940, a dance hall fire killed 198 people in Natchez, Mississippi. — Today’s feature article is by  SurvivalBlog staff writer Tom Christianson. — We are seeking entries for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest.  Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get …


Savage Model 220A in 20 Gauge, by Thomas Christianson

My maternal grandfather owned two shotguns. One was a rusty old 12 gauge with a cracked buttstock and a broken butt plate. The other was a nice little Savage Model 220A in 20 gauge. When I was in my teens, I said to Grandpa, “I would like to try to repair that 12 gauge for you. If you like the work, you can give me the 20 gauge in payment.” That was a foolish offer on my part. Why would Grandpa want to give up a dandy 20 gauge just to get a battered old 12 gauge repaired. But for …


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, new advances in UGVs. US Army’s Unmanned Hunter Wolf UGV in Field Tests Over at Modernity: US Army Trials Unmanned Hunter Wolf Robot With Gun, Radar In Combat …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“As to the history of the revolution, my ideas may be peculiar perhaps singular. What do we mean by the revolution? The war? That was no part of the revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1760 to 1775, in the course of fifteen years, before a drop of blood was shed at Lexington.” – John Adams, from a letter to Thomas Jefferson, August 24th, 1815


Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 22, 2026

On April 22, 1056 Supernova Crab (the Crab Nebula) was last seen by the naked eye. Pictured is a mosaic image assembled from Hubble Space Telescope imagery.  Now, nearly a thousand years later, the supenova remnant is still a spectacular sight for astronomers. — At noon, on April 22, 1889, by Federal decree, white settlers were allowed into Indian Territory, sparking a land rush involving tens of thousands in what became Oklahoma Territory. — We are running a two-week-long sale on all of our pre-1899 antique shotguns at Elk Creek Company, with deep discounts. This sale will end on Monday, …


A Tale of Two Appleseeds – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Understand that applications are on you Appleseed events are threading a needle. They need to say that they are not fomenting rebellion or any illegal use of force. They have to say this because they are pointing to our American heritage of marksmanship…without which our rebellion against the brits would have failed. You don’t need to be a lawyer to see the tension. The only way you can survive that tension is by erring on the side of liability protection. They are not teaching hunting. They are not teaching self defense. They …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our 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. — Automatic Draft Registration Set to Begin in December. (Pictured above is peacetime draft registration in the United States, in 1940.) o  o  o Winter storm warning issued as 5 feet of snow, freezing temperatures barrel toward western US highways. o  o  o Blog reader C.B. sent us this: Suspects convicted for insurance fraud …