Guest Article: SHTF Intelligence – Getting Started- Part 1, by Samuel Culper

This is the first article in a series about using intelligence for preparedness. I’m starting from square zero in order to introduce a new crop of Americans to the concept of using intelligence, to prove that there’s a need for intelligence and to get readers quickly up to speed on how to incorporate it into their security planning. After getting caught up to speed, if you’d like to read more in-depth and put theory into practice, a book entitled SHTF Intelligence will show you the way forward. You can find a small homework exercise here. Why do I need intelligence? …


Letter Re: Dry Canning

Hello Hugh and Sarah, Do you sterilize your jars before using when dry canning? Do you boil or use dry heat (oven)? Wonderful articles! I’m converting. I’ve had too many reservations about the mylar bags. Have done a lot with them but some don’t seem to pull a vacuum. It makes me question whether they are truly sealed. In fact, I wonder about whether I should repackage everything in jars. Yikes. We’re talking a 300-400 half gallon bags. – P.B. HJL Comments: We don’t use water bath canning as a general rule so we don’t worry too much about sterilization. …


Recipe of the Week: Beef and Potatoes

Ingredients: 2 lbs lean ground beef 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper ¼ cup finely chopped onion 1 can condensed tomato soup 5 to 6 medium potatoes 1 cup light cream Directions: In a large skillet brown the beef, breaking up large chunks with a fork. Pour off excess fat. In a small bowl, mix together salt, pepper, onion, and undiluted soup. Peel and slice potatoes. In a slow-cooking pot, arrange alternate layers of potatoes and meat (with the potatoes on the bottom). Pour the soup mixture over, then cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Turn …


Two Letters Re: Toilet Wipes

HJL, How about the eBay Bidet. It not only rhymes, it completely solves your bum washing problem. You install it on your toilet in 20 minutes. I found out about this using a process of elimination. – M. o o o Hi Hugh, This idea may have already been mentioned, but I connected a kitchen sink dish spray hose and nozzle to my toilet water supply as a homemade bidet using a pipe tee, 1/2-inch valves, and some reducing adapters. It takes a little experimenting to know how far to crack open the valve to keep from spraying water everywhere. …


Sew and Grow, Save and Recycle Your Way Into Preparedness – Part 2, by S.T.

Minimum Quantities Needed You will need the minimum quantities that are listed below. However, you can start on your path to reusable products with lower quantities and can continue to add additional quantities each and every week as you produce additional quantities of final product. Washable feminine hygiene products- 50- 8” for each female in the home 25- 12” for each female in the home Washable toilet paper- 50 for each male in the home 100 for each female in the home Washable dish towels- 20 each Washable napkins- 21 for each person in the house Washable aprons 2 for …


Sew and Grow, Save and Recycle Your Way Into Preparedness – Part 1, by S.T.

As a society, we all rely upon a vast amount of manufactured products every day from canning jars and lids to dishes to pots and pans to toothpaste and dental floss. This list goes on and on. However, we can not forget that gasoline and diesel fuel and electricity are the most important manufactured items. Without these there will no longer be any other mass produced manufactured items made or delivered to a store near you. Every disposable item that you can now replace with reusable items will put you well ahead of the sheeple, save you money, and make …


The Costs and Benefits of Hunting, by J.B.

I’m a lifelong hunter that has gone from being a kid taken to a hunting club by his father, as an introduction to hunting back in the mid-70’s, to being a self-sufficient property owner, who can hunt year round for the non-game species (hogs) if need be. I’ll be the first to say that hunting for self-sufficiency in today’s world, particularly in the Eastern U.S., would be a short-lived venture during a TEOTWAWKI situation. The reason being is that there would very likely be a mass migration of people from the major metropolitan areas out in the rural areas looking …


Letter Re: Food Preservation

Good afternoon, Hugh, Recently SurvivalBlog has presented several articles on food preservation, including extremely informative ones from your wife, Sarah. I’ve become curious about a few things: Is there a minimum vacuum level necessary for food preservation? (This assumes other factors, such as the lack of heat-based canning procedures are not necessary for preservation.) Are there advantages to purging air from a food container with nitrogen? If so, is there a recommended procedure for that? Does vacuum sealing after nitrogen purging offer additional advantages? You have tested and reported on a commercially available home freeze dryer; how much preservation time …


Tracking Dogs- Part 3, by D.D.

As you can see, the dogs are the least of your worries. They are just one of the tools that are used to accomplish the overall goal of catching you. They are used for direction and tracking, and they supply information to the other searchers. A K9 may also be used to grab you, just as they would anywhere else they are used. Even if you could somehow trick or neutralize the dog, you are still going to have to deal with quite a bit of other things. To get into range of doing harm to the dog or handler …


Letter Re: Vacuum Sealing Jars and Feed Store Grain

Good morning, Hugh, I enjoyed and learned a little more from Sarah Latimer’s post. I’m interested in the method used to create a vacuum in the canning jars when dry canning. We have arrived at the same place you have– to use glass jars. We have canned many jars of dehydrated apples and other items by heating the jars in an oven to 300 degrees and sterilizing the lids, filling the jars with the contents, and tightening the lids quickly. This has worked well 95% of the time. We have heard of various devices to place a vacuum on jars, …


Tracking Dogs- Part 2, by D.D.

Cross a River I specifically brought this one up. They laughed at this as a common misconception. They will have maps, and if they think you ran in the direction of a river, there is probably someone working their way up already without a dog. They will just run a dog up and down both sides of the river until they regain the trail. If they are close on your trail, they will send runners up and down both sides to see where you exited by finding the water trail and will actually gain time on you. Moving through water …


Letter Re: What We are Up Against

Greetings: You may be aware of my concerns over the potential for local infiltration of Islamists and what will no doubt ensure thereafter. As bad as some criminals are, most don’t gun-down 100 young adults in a club! And shockingly, far too many Americans fail to understand that horrific tragedy was considered desirable and “compassionate” by an Imam preaching in the local Orlando Mosque… Here is the video from their local TV station: Look at the battle that Mayor Van Dyne in Irving Texas has been fighting… and how she was ambushed by her own city council members when it …


Tracking Dogs- Part 1, by D.D.

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I had read an article some time ago about tracking dogs, and I didn’t get to respond to it then. However, here is my experience. It’s not the dog you are trying to beat; it is the handler. I have a lot of experience with tracking dogs. I used to guard the copper pipeline in Indonesia. The copper mine (also containing some gold) was on top of a mountain. Once the material was taken from the ground, it was mixed into a slurry and pumped miles through the jungle to the port. This pipeline was under constant attack. People would …


Letter Re: Sanitation Issues

Dear Hugh Some years ago I severely injured my back and could not access the bathroom, which was on another floor. I took one of those lightweight home hospital potties, put a plastic bag into the bucket part, and put a bag of loose pine sawdust kitty litter next to it. You use the bucket, sprinkle a cup of loose pine litter over it, no smell, no problem. And I do mean no smell. I had to sit right next to it for weeks. Do not use standard clay kitty litter, which is made of bentonite clay. Yes, it will …


Recipe of the Week: Family Favorite Meat Loaf

Ingredients: 2 beaten eggs ¾ cup milk ¾ cup fine dry bread crumbs 2 tbs grated onion 1 tsp salt ½ tsp ground sage 1½ lbs ground beef. Sauce: ¼ cup catsup 2 tbs brown sugar 1 tsp dry mustard ¼ tsp ground nutmeg Directions: Combine eggs with milk, bread crumbs, onion, salt, sage, and meat. Mix well and shape into 9×5-inch rectangle or oval, or about 6-inch round. Carefully place in slow-cooking pot. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour over meat. Cover and cook on high for 15 …