Letter Re: Surviving Custer

Hugh,I always keep a hide-a-key attached to my car for situations just like your reader at the Custer Monument. It has saved my bacon more than once when far from home. If you have an older car, it is relatively simple to get spare keys made and tucked away in a magnetic hide-a-key box under the vehicle. However, with today’s anti-theft keys, there are some challenges you must overcome. First, if you live where the temperature drops below freezing, the battery in the electronic key fob can become frozen and not operate. When this happens just tuck it under your …


Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 2, by R.M.

Figure Out How Much Weight Your Horse Can Handle If things head south, and you think you might have to use your horse under stress at some point in the near future, keep his weight right and work his chest. A firm horse is one you can rely upon. Using a soft horse for a strenuous endeavor is not fair to the horse and is a safety hazard to you. Every horse is different. A horse with bad conformation (bone structure) can’t have much expected of him; a swayback isn’t a long distance choice. You have to have a good …


Letter Re: Regarding Maple Syrup

Sarah, Yup, you got that right regarding maple syrup. We keep a gallon or two of maple syrup in our refrigerator/freezer and in our stand-up freezer in the basement. Both of those appliances are part of our core systems powered by 2Kw of solar panels. Backup inverters are stored in galvanized cans for hard times. So barring misfortune we will still have refrigeration during SHTF. Maple syrup is available in a variety of forms, including the favorite liquid (classification based on color) and crystallized candies. I often add it to recipes calling for sugar and highly recommend it be used …


Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 1, by R.M.

Assess Your Horse’s Capabilities and Temperament We all love to think of our horses as part of the family. Some might love their horses. Let me begin by saying that before you do an overnight or longer trip away from all the comforts of home, you need to honestly assess your horse’s capabilities and temperament. Temperament is key here. I am careful to choose the horse for the job. I prefer traveling far with my dog as well. He is a great scout, level headed, and loves to ride. He often hunts for himself, but I always bring food for …


Letter Re: RS’s Story

Hugh, I read RS’s story with interest in the March 18th entry. It seems like it’s one of those situations that slowly snowballs out of control but thankfully had a happy ending. Personally, I would have called either the police or a tow service from the lodge to get into the “locked” car (although it turned out to be unnecessary), but I am mostly writing to suggest that RS invest in a couple of those FRS radios from the big box store or Amazon. While they don’t get nearly the range advertised, it may have allowed for communication during the …


Recipe of the Week: Sweet Potato / Squash Casserole, by Polly in MO

I have served this on Thanksgiving every year for over 21 years. It is my granddaughter’s favorite, and she comments EVERY year at the start of dinner, “Sweet Potato / Squash Casserole! MY FAVORITE. I ate it as a baby on my first Thanksgiving!” Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups mashed butternut squash 1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potato 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup Brown sugar 1/3 cup melted butter (not margarine or spread) 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: Mix all together. ( I use a hand mixer.) Put in 9×9 baking dish. Sprinkle with topping and bake …


Two Letters Re: Coffee

Hi Sarah, I took great interest in your article about coffee, as I am one who loves a good cup or two of coffee daily. My concerns in a SHFT would also be how do I ensure that coffee would be available. Currently, I keep 10 lbs on hand of whole bean coffee. I do not refrigerate or freeze as I thought that would destroy the flavors. The coffee is in 2.5 lb bags and rotated. I purchased a hand grinder and also bought a French Press, which makes delicious coffee and uses no electricity. My setup is fine for …


Letter Re: Coffee

Mrs. Latimer, Thank you for your contributions to our survival knowledge. In regard to roasting your own coffee, we have been doing this for years and I thought I might share … Firstly we buy our beans green by the 150 pound (plus) burlap bags from Royal Coffee Co. and have it shipped to us. We have kept our beans in 5 gallon buckets in a cool place and have never had a problem with spoilage. Like you, we have gone through multiple evolutions of roasting techniques from cast iron pan to electric hot air popcorn popper, which I will …


Surviving Custer, by R.S.

Let’s be honest, how many of you ever expect to find yourself in a survival situation? You’ve probably day dreamed about it, wondering how you’d fare. The fact is, we don’t walk out the door in the morning expecting to find ourselves in a predicament. I certainly never expected to find myself in such a “survival” situation on a summer day in South Dakota’s Custer State Park. Yet, there I was facing such a situation just last summer. We had finally taken our long-awaited family vacation “out West”. We live in the suburbs outside a large Midwestern city. So the …


Letter Re: Coffee

Sarah, I have tried grinding my own coffee and do prefer it. However, buying only a few pounds at a time I found that the beans cost more than buying the ground coffee! That goes for the green coffee beans too. It reminded me of the old Heathkit radios that everyone said you paid for the privilege of putting together. Perhaps they would be cheaper if bought in volumes of 100 or 500 pounds, but I can not afford such a purchase on my own and there is no one in my family, friends or acquaintances who are willing to …


A Homemade Thermos Cooker, by M.P.

A thermos cooker is an energy saving cooking device. Earlier versions were a vacuum thermos that you placed uncooked food and boiling water into and then sealed it up, and in a few hours you had cooked food. Later versions have a pot that you put your ingredients into and place on your stove; you then bring the contents to a boil and place the pot into an insulated outer pot to hold the heat in and cook the food. Thermos cookers do not speed up cooking times; they only save energy, and in fact cooking times can be significantly …


Letter Re: 80% Lower Router Problems

Hugh, I wanted to add something here. You should not have to keep retightening a router bit after each cut. Having been a woodworker for 25+ years and having used routers to mill aluminum, here are a few safety tips: When inserting bit in collet make sure bit is not bottomed out all the way. Insert bit until it bottoms out and then slightly raise it up about 1/32 or 1/16″. The easy way to do this is to snug collet enough so you can insert bit into collet, and that bit will stay put when you take your hand …


Selecting An Escape Route, by KyoSa D

Everyone has a plan to “Get Out of Dodge” in an emergency. As I teach my self defense and firearms classes, I ask people and they all say, “I’d head up to my cabin” or “I’ll head out west”. The problem is, have you actually considered how you will leave the immediate area of your home or work? Most of the people I hear begin their plan ambiguously. They say, just simply, “I’d leave town”, but they have never done any reconnaissance or real-life consideration of their route. As humans, we are creatures of habit. If I want to leave …


Letter Re: 80% Firearms

Hugh, I recently completed a Complete AR-15 Rifle Kit with PTAC Upper from 80% Arms with their Easy Jig system, and I would like to share a few things from my experience. 80% Arms shipped the kit within just a few days. There were no missing parts or tools. That was my only experience with their customer service, but based on the rapid shipment I would rate them “excellent”. The instructions were quite complete and understandable, but you do need to read them carefully (preferably twice or more) before cutting and then follow them exactly step by step while cutting. …


Vinegar As An Essential Multi-Purpose Tool for TEOTWAWKI- Part 2, by J.R.

Equipment and Supplies Making your own vinegar at home is a simple, useful, practical skill that is applicable to TEOTWAWKI.  If you can crush apples and save the apple juice, you can make apple cider vinegar (ACV).  In addition to apple, there are many different types of vinegars you can make depending upon your needs and desires.  I have been making ACV for many years. I have gallons put away in my basement, and I always have a bottle in the fridge that I use on a continual basis.  Stocking up on some basic supplies ahead of time will ensure …