Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

From SurvivalBlog Reader Spotlight: I would like to offer a recommendation for the movie The Grey, I don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned before. Some caveats include lots of harsh language and some savage attacks by wolves upon men. Beyond that, it really struck a chord with me. It is an incredible story of survival and the will to survive. I am not into poetry in any way, but I specifically went back and memorized the poem from the movie. I think it’s a movie all young men should see. Mrs. Spotlight and daughter Flashlight, did not like it at …


Let’s Be The “Good Guy With a Computer” Too, by Tupreco

We all get emails or other Internet postings sent to us about something sensational or horrifying or something that just motivated the sender to repost it or forward it on to you. Most of us just ignore them and shake our heads at the gullibility of the sender. You know the kind I’m talking about. Here are a few of the famous ones that are still making the rounds after years of circulation and recirculation: The Blue Star temporary tattoo for kids laced with LSD! The FCC petition started by atheists to ban all religious broadcasting! Proctor and Gamble has …


Letter Re: 9mm and BF’s Comment

Hugh, Yes, it is the caliber in hand, but the one in hand should be the caliber with which you can put multiple rounds on target rapidly according to a well written SB article that I am too lazy to find just now. [Editor’s note: Firearms Training/Exercise #1] AND, in case you need a note for your wife on the annual purchase rate, the congressional candidate who will get my vote next week says “If you know how many guns you own (off the top of your head), you don’t own enough.” To avoid cheap mags I just go buy …


Letter Re: 9mm for Survival

Hugh / Jim, I have to agree with almost all of what Pat Cascio said in his column about the 9mm for survival. Any gun and caliber is a compromise, and the one you have with you when you need it is better than the one sitting home in the safe. I do have a couple of comments. I have had bad experience with the .40 Glock Korean magazines, including one of them in my Glock 35 having the baseplate pop off and the rounds dump out of the bottom of the magazine as I was in the starting box …


Using EMP-Hardened HF Ham Radio to Send/Receive E-Mail During Nationwide Outage- Part 2, by PrepperDoc

Transmit-Receive Frequency Offset This should be zero. Synthesized digital radios have no problem accomplishing this; however, vacuum tube rigs may struggle. Surprisingly, the less expensive HW-series transceivers and the SB’s with the vacuum tube based LMO (VFO), in my experience, have little shift between transmit and receive. Later SB-series transceivers with the solid-state VFO may have an offset. If this offset is > 100 Hz, you’ll notice it during SSB conversations (“leapfrogging” as you chase the fellow you’re talking to), and you’ll want to fix that for digital communications. Happily, the solid state LMO includes a FSK (frequency shift keying) …


Letter: Generator Tips

Good morning, Hugh, I thought I might pass along a tip or two about generators. I have several, the most used being one of a pair of Honda EU2000i, which does constant duty as an “unlimited length extension cord” around the property. The other is a much less portable 6500 watt unit, which lives in “hurry up and wait” mode in case power fails and the well pump is needed. I’ve got a homemade kit to couple the 2000s together to double the output, if I find I need some more “portable watts” for a power tool. The second EU2000 …


Using EMP-Hardened HF Ham Radio to Send/Receive E-Mail During Nationwide Outage- Part 1, by PrepperDoc

There are multiple possible scenarios that may result in a regional an/or national combined loss of Internet connectivity and cell/telephone service, during which you would probably wish to maintain communications to loved ones and others. EMP may destroy routers, cell towers, and power sources; solar coronal mass ejection (CME) may remove power from all communications systems; cyber warfare may have similar outcomes. Travel in some of these circumstances will be difficult, or dangerous to impossible. Ham radio VHF/UHF repeaters may go down, due to power outages or EMP. Direct, point to point simplex VHF Ham radio will still work (even …


Letter Re: Venezuela Eating Worse

Hugh, I understand the situation. The people are desperate. Looking at those pictures it is easy to see they are subsisting on too many starches, which makes them appear well fed, though they are not. So I’m not meaning to criticize, but there is also in those pictures of their food something of note. There’s lots of foods there that can be reproduced. Seeds in the veggies can be planted, beans can be planted, coax seeds from the onions and carrots, plant a potato, etc. Are they doing that? Do they have a place to do that? Would it be …


Notes from “The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs”, by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Did you know that you can get an estimate of distances and elevations conveniently using nothing more than your eyes and your hands? It’s really quite amazing and useful; hikers, hunters, and preppers really need to learn these skills. Ol’ Remus at the Woodpile Report (www.woodpilereport.com) recently recommended a book by Tristan Gooley entitled The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: outdoor clues to find your way, predict the weather, locate water, track animals and other forgotten skills. It sounded downright intriguing, so I’ve been reading it on my Kindle and enjoying it quite a bit. The first Appendix had …


Letter: Observations on the Fires in Canada

Hugh, I wanted to comment on the article about the folks fleeing the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Canada. I saw some classic SurvivalBlog themes in there: Keep your gas tanks full. The gas station owner noted that people were “fighting each other to get gas, growing more and more desperate as the afternoon wore on.” Keep your gas tanks full, (yes I’m repeating myself). Later on the writer notes people were abandoning their cars on the highway since they knew they wouldn’t have enough fuel to make it to their destination. Don’t be a refugee. The folks that went to …


Readiness Mindset: Your Most Important Survival Tool- Part 2, by B.G.

Keep yourself from giving up. Always stay positive. Negativity will kill you faster than the lack of nourishment, enemy combatants, or nature. It is an absolute guarantee that you will fail, if you give up. Staying calm and keeping a positive mindset will give you the mental endurance to continue on and make good decisions. Find your mental trigger. This is what you will think about when you are on your last leg, ready to give up, or don’t think you can do what needs to be done. This will be your motivation to push that one more mile, to …


Letter Re: Maintaining Your Household in the Post-SHTF World- Part 2

Hugh, This was an excellent article from S.T. Sanitation and cleanliness will become a major concern post SHTF. In his writings, JWR has commented on the advantage of having spring water on your property, and we can attest to that. Here’s how it works for us. Our spring is located up at the head of our holler up behind the house. It is piped into to a 500 gallon holding tank and that is piped down to the house. From there it feeds into a wood-fired water stove (hot water and baseboard heat) as well as all the faucets and …


Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

Reader A.G. recommended The Invisible Front – a story of resistance against Soviet occupation post WWII. o o o G.S. suggested the movie The Way – a story about an American ophthalmologist who goes to France following the death of his adult son while walking the Camino de Santiago. The father decides to walk the trail himself while coming to terms with his son’s death. o o o DMS usually recommends movies but this week suggested the music of Jordan Feliz. He especially enjoys the song The River o o o W.E. recommended the book The War Journal of Major …


Readiness Mindset: Your Most Important Survival Tool- Part 1, by B.G.

Whether prepping for a EOTWAWKI situation or any potential disaster or emergency in everyday life, the most important and powerful tool at your disposal is your own mind. A person can have all of the fanciest survival gear and equipment, but without the proper mindset and training it is all nothing more than a cool looking, expensive pile of useless junk. Even a person who has studied countless books, guides, and manuals for every survival situation imaginable can be rendered completely inept in the moment of an emergency, when all that knowledge is needed the most. If you wish to …


Letter Re: Realities to Off-Grid

Hugh, Just wanted to share that the bucket toilet seats don’t last long, only about five months. You need to build a wooden box and put on a real toilet seat. You will get a build up in the bucket over time and bleach doesn’t clean it. Pour boiling water over the sides and bottom and it will come out clean and odor free. Laundry done by hand will need a place to drain, since you can’t wring it out as well as a machine. You can use a wringer, but it doesn’t do well for jeans and sweat shirts, …