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, …


Recipe of the Week: Easy Hamburger Potato Soup

Inspired by last week’s recipe, Reader A.N. sent one of her favorites in: Ingredients: 1 package of Bear Creek dry potato soup mix 1 lb ground beef or turkey (cooked) 8 cups of water Directions: Heat water to a boil. Slowly whisk in the dry potato soup mix. Add ground beef. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve with shredded cheese, scallions, grated carrots, or whatever suits your fancy. 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. Thanks!


Letter Re: Alien Gear Holsters

Jim and Hugh, Several weeks ago, in your “News from the Redoubt” column, you mentioned a company out of Idaho for IWB (inside the waistband) holsters, named Alien Gear Holsters. I have just about every type of (outside) belt holster and most work just fine for my needs, but I was in need of an IWB so I decided to give them a try. I’m glad I did. I was planning on an Internet order on Sunday evening when the hours on their website said they were still open (I live in the eastern time zone and they in mountain), …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Product Review: AR-7 Rifle

Pat, My main criticism of the AR 7 is with a little work they could have made room for a box of 22 ammo in the stock. It’d have been much better then relying on carrying separate ammo and hoping they stay together. I have some time flying in the bush in Alaska. Sentiment seems to be that if you crash and can get out of the plane it may well burn, and you better have all your critical stuff on you or real close. I carry a handgun, 44 magnum, and a small butt pack when I fly. It’s …


How to Make and Utilize the Most Excellent Tinder Sticks For Starting Fires, by D.A.

Okay, when the lid comes off civilization and things are fun again, you don’t want to be the numbskull sending up a smoke signal that can be seen from space, just trying to get a fire going. You want to be the guy who kneels down for a bit and brings forth fire, like Prometheus or somebody that gets things done. I am going to teach you to make tinder that will stay lit and accelerate your fire. It will be inexpensive, too. Then you will achieve success in building a fire so you can finally crack open that can …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Product Review – AR-7

Hugh, Every so often Pat hits a “homer”. The AR-7 review was another very well thought out and informative article by a person who I have much respect for. A couple of points on the current AR7: one the big orange front sight is not a negative, as it is currently manufactured for those of us getting a little older and needing a little help, and that orange blade is just that. Another aspect is to buy at least 10 extra mags for each gun. First, as Pat stated, you can keep one in the receiver and that allows two …


Maintaining Your Household in the Post-SHTF World- Part 2, by S.T.

Wood Stove Cooking The same recipes that you use in the summer with a wonder oven you can also cook in the winter on a wood stove. The Ice House Keeping Food Cold or Frozen in the Hot Summer I do not have ponds or horses and buggies to move large blocks of ice during the winter, so I must improvise. During summer, when cutting and splitting firewood, this will be done over a tarp so that the sawdust can be collected and saved in buckets. When winter is full force, I have 10 each of the 20-gallon Rubbermade totes …


Letter Re: Velcro on Tactical Gear

Dear Hugh, A very nice alternative to velcro pouches is made by the folks at UW Gear. They use a “tuck tab” feature that doesn’t use velcro, snaps, or buckles. This uses a stiff piece of webbing that “tucks” into the tab on the front of the magazine pouch. There is nothing to wear out here and should be easy to clean if snow or mud somehow gets in there. They make chest rigs, bandoleers, and standalone pouches. To my knowledge, they currently can make these for 5.56, 7.62×39,5.45, and 7.62×51. It is a little bit of a wait time …