May in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review,by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in May? Gold began the month with another run at the $1,300 mark but was unable to break through after several attempts. This failure changed sentiment among speculators, leading gold lower. The Federal Reserve, thinking that the markets had stopped listening to them, started an all-out media blitz to stoke fears of …


Letter Re: Hunting for Self Sufficiency

Hugh, I am not sure how far the writer is from the Georgia Border, but you can hunt feral hogs year round, 24/7, with night vision, flashlight; it doesn’t matter. Farmers in Georgia do have issues with these non-native animals that were introduced for sport hunting in the early days of this nation. If you can find a farmer that would allow you to hunt (and if Georgia is not that far from you), you should be able to take quite a harvest. You can even hunt over bait with these critters. I am amazed that Florida would only allow …


Five Common Mistakes New Preppers Make and How to Avoid Them- Part 2, by S.M.

Practicing Poor Opsec (continued) There are a lot of different ways to see if a person is receptive to prepping or whether they are sheep. Help those who ask for your help or are interested in becoming prepared. I actually put together an easy 30 day pantry list and have been asked for a copy by several people shortly after the “winter weather” discussion I mentioned earlier. They can easily grow from there on their own. Some other great topics that you can work around to a preparedness conversation that I like to use are: Civil Unrest. Everyone is discussing …


Letter Re: Hunting for Self Sufficiency

James, I’ve been a follower of your blog for many years and find it both a good resource and a great way to keep your ear to the ground among all the survival/prepper sites that trend to sensationalism and speculation. Patriots was my first real fiction and began a great love of survival fiction. Thirty or forty books later and daily searching for solid tips on the prepper blogs, I believe the time has been well spent. My wife and I live alone, and due to a degenerative neurological affliction neither one of us can work and I am her …


Five Common Mistakes New Preppers Make and How to Avoid Them- Part 1, by S.M.

Those new to prepping, and even those more experienced, will often find themselves overwhelmed with not only information that is often conflicting but with tasks. “Where do I even start?” is a common question. It is my intention to help you become less overwhelmed and more organized in what you will soon realize is a marathon journey rather than a sprint. In doing so, I will attempt to keep my particular opinions to a minimum and just provide helpful information to the readers. Failure to Properly Assess Your Situation There’s an old saying, “If you fail to plan, then you …


Letter: Discounted Freeze Dried Food Sources

Hugh, I’m reasonably sure lots of your readers are aware, but just in case… Costco (online) has lots of freeze dried foods at really good prices compared to other vendors online. Apparently they buy overstock from many suppliers. Anyway, I just got a case of six #10 cans of Mountain House Breakfast Skillet for $149 with UPS shipping included in the price. Also, I got a case of MH Chicken Stew for $139, with the same free shipping deal. The prices of these items are usually between $185 and $200 PLUS shipping at three of the popular online providers. (I …


Survival Escape and Evasion, by Nemo

When reading survivalist literature, on various blogs and in fiction, there are many good ideas and suggestions, but often suffering from an idealization of circumstances, both before and after “the event”, which throws all into confusion. On the one hand, preparations for disaster are too often haunted by the twin hell-hounds of over-confidence and the myth of universal preparedness. Over-confidence, in that the prepper is assumed to have unlimited financial resources and time to purchase the items suggested and to acquire the training needed to do various things. Universal preparedness, being a myth, is based on the idea that the …


Letter Re: Heathkit Radios

Editor: I disagree with the letter regarding the unsuitability of Heathkit (vacuum) tube radios for EMP protection. Let me elaborate: Lethal voltages: While you really don’t want to tangle with +700 VDC, the most lethal voltage in any radio is that which comes from the wall outlet: 120 VAC. AC fibrillates hearts (we use it for that purpose in cardiac surgery); DC defibrillates hearts (done that many times). Requires 120 Volts AC: Unless you get the 12 volt power supply (I have two). Or solar power / inverters.…right? No cooling fan: Well, they rarely need it! My primary rig is …


Letter Re: Venezuela

Hey, SurvivalBlog, With the recent post Letter Re: Venezuela eating worse by J.D., I thought I would chime in, as I have been researching the situation in Venezuela recently. While I am not going to attempt to draw a conclusion for the situation in Venezuela, I would like to present everyone with some of the information I have found interesting with how the narratives have changed over the years and attempt to answer one of J.D.’s questions. 2005 In March of 2005, an article was written discussing that Venezuela’s environment was under stress. 2007 Former President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, …


Recipe of the Week: Crock Pot Noodles, by J.G.

Ingredients: 1 to 1-1½ lb. ground beef or turkey 2 pints pizza sauce l can mushroom soup, slightly thinned l lb noodles 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded 1 medium onion, chopped Directions: Brown meat in skillet. Cook noodles until about half done. Layer in crock pot (in this order): a portion of meat, noddles, sauce, cheese, soup, onions Repeat layers until ingredients are used. Do not stir. Cook on low for 4 hours. o o o Useful Recipe and Cooking Links: Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. …


Letter Re: Long Distance Vision and Night Vision

Dear Sirs, I really enjoy reading your blog, but I have a question to ask you. I am blind in my right eye and I am having trouble trying to find a long distant vision and night vision for a one-eyed person. Do you have any suggestions? – R.H. HJL’s Comment: The PVS-14, carried by several of our advertisers, is an excellent choice for night vision. It is a monocle and is used on only one eye. It is commonly worn on the dominate eye, allowing the non-dominate eye to be used for peripheral vision. Without the use of your …


A Micro Solar Power System With Maximum Utility, by B.C.

Necessity being the mother of invention, I recently stumbled backwards onto an inexpensive and truly totable way to power two-way radios, shortwave, and other receivers; charge smart phones and iPads; provide lighting; quickly purify water on the go; keep night vision functional; enable electronic security systems; and pump rainwater to a gravity tank, while protecting all these functions from EMP in the interim. I will quietly be turning 50 next month. I joined the survivalist movement in the early 1980’s, at the tail end of that upswing of interest in such things. Vietnam was still fresh in our minds, and …


Letter Re: Using EMP-Hardened HF Ham Radio

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Hugh, I strongly recommend against using any Heathkit rig for an emergency radio. There was one solid state Heathkit but it was a rebadged, factory assembled Yaesu. All others were built by an individual, whose attention to detail you most likely have no idea about. They are known in the hobby as “GRIEF kits” for a GOOD reason. They fail – early, and often. They have too many disadvantages for the emergency backup purpose. Besides all the ones mentioned by the original author: They have high (LETHAL) voltages inside. They require 120V AC power. They have no cooling fan on …


Building An Infrared Triplight (and Other Ideas), by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Here’s an idea for how to build a tripline-activated infrared light that will illuminate a path or area when triggered. The person passing through will not know they have triggered it, and an observer with a night vision device will be able to see the person better than with only ambient light and without activating their own infrared source/spotlight. Why set up triplights? The reasons would be to: (a) alert you to the approach of someone at night, (b) to help you identify the approaching person(s), and possibly even (c) to help you target the approaching person if you absolutely, …


Letter Re: Lost Knowledge

Hugh, My great grandmother was born in the late 1800’s and was raised in an orphanage in a rural area. This orphanage had an on-site school where, in addition to the 3R’s, all the girls were required to learn to “Cook, Clean, Sew, Crochet, and Knit”. All of the boys were required to learn to farm and master carpentry skills. At aged 16 ,when she graduated school and left the orphanage, she was equipped to run a household and earn a living as a seamstress. My great grandmother lived through the 1918-1919 flu pandemic and a typhoid outbreak. She died …