Letter: Christian Medical Sharing Ministries

Hello Hugh, Some time ago I read about Christian medical sharing ministries on SurvivalBlog. (My Experience in Expatriating to Panama, by Chuck Holton) I am retiring early at 61 due to a medical condition, and not wanting to use Obamacare I thought I had found my solution. I joined Liberty Health Share after researching them. They tell you they will help you establish a connection between them and your doctor. You fill out a form detailing your doctor’s office and send it back to Liberty. They then send correspondence to your doctor’s office. If your doctor does not respond to …


Letter Re: Wounding Patterns

Hugh, I agree that the report, “The Profile of Wounding in Civilian Public Mass Shooting Fatalities,” as posted in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, is a bit arcane, but what would you expect? This is supposed to be the raw research methodology and data, and its actually reassuring to me to see that rather than the unsubstantiated claims often made in firearms conversations. I’m not a trauma expert by any means, not in anyone’s wildest imaginations, though I have been trained as a Combat Lifesaver (and have taken other med courses over the years), so I have …


Letter Re: Pat Cascio’s Review of the Springfield Commander Size RO

Hugh, Pat was saying that he wished to change out the recoil spring for a heavier one on the commander size Springfield RO for +P loads. From what I’ve experienced Wilson Combat’s flatwire recoil spring kits for the 4 and 5 inch 1911’s are money well spent. In addition to giving More protection and control they will last considerably longer than conventional springs. Forty thousand rounds or more in comparison to the 5000 round life of conventional springs. Money well spent. – G.M. Pat Cascio comments: Sadly, the ones made by Wilson Combat will not work in the current Springfield …


Guest Article: Obama’s Executive Order and the Gunsmith, by Gene Kelly

Does the recent Obama “executive order” really affect your ability to do your own gunsmithing or be a professional gunsmith?! If you listen to the wagging tongues, supposedly all gunsmiths are going to have to register with the State Department DDTC and pay big fees. In reality, well, not so much. The first thing I want to tell you is don’t panic. Things are not as dire as initially broadcast widely over the Internet. The current government would love nothing better than to have you throw up your hands and quit gunsmithing or stop working on your guns. In fact, …


Letter Re: Wounding Patterns

Aloha HJL, I have a response to the post from 30 July 2016 regarding the wounding patterns of civilian public mass shooting (CPMS) events versus military wounding patterns. ShepherdFarmerGeek sent this in, and it is fantastic to review anything regarding survivability in the coming times. I agree with the last line: “Time to reevaluate the preps and training.” That should be a daily occurrence for every one of us! But, I respectfully disagree with the view that “…we may be training and prepping wrong…”. I read the article and was somewhat surprised by the data revealed; though I think 12 …


Is Being Prepared Getting In The Way of Living?, by M.

What are you preparing for? Are you getting ready to survive an EMP attack? A financial meltdown? Flu pandemic? Nuclear holocaust? Regardless of what we are preparing for, sometimes it is healthy to ask ourselves how we are living in the meantime. Those of us who feel a need to prepare do it with a passion, but are we preparing in sensible ways that allow us to enjoy life each day, or are we so busy watching and waiting for the chaos of life to justify the time and money we’ve spent on our “preps” that we miss a lot …


Letter: Charity and Red Dot Sights

Dear Editor, We had a line of storms blow through with extraordinarily strong winds, blowing trees down over multiple counties. We were blessed to have family, friends, and a church member help clean up the limbs and fallen tree on the family place. When lunch time came, I had to run to the store and get some food to feed everybody. This gave me a great idea: Along with the food you put back, include a portion for one or two meals for around ten people, so that you can feed whoever comes to help out. A spaghetti dinner for …


Guest Article: SHTF Intelligence – Getting Started- Part 2, by Samuel Culper

This is the second 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 gain a deeper knowledge and put theory into practice, a book entitled *SHTF Intelligence will show you the way forward. You can find a small homework exercise here. In the first article, …


Letter Re: Wifi At a Discrete Distance

It’s better to find an adapter with antenna port. This is a high-powered single-band adapter or a dual band (I’d recommend the 5Ghz band if possible, but it is still a bit rare) with RP-SMA connection. Then add a good antenna; the omni is probably equal to the Yagi. If there isn’t interference and is dual band but this Yagi will pull in from a longer distance. If you can get two and get a connector, you can put it “in the middle” like in a tree and point one at the source and one where you are using it, …


How Do You Find A Good Survival Retreat Property?, by D.R. in TN

With global economic instability rising and personal security issues taking center stage in the U.S., consumer demand is increasing for remote properties that offer security and the ability to be self-contained. This could include providing your own electric power, drinking water, food, and personal protection. In other words, it’s the ability to live independently, in a self-sufficient manner, with renewable resources far from urban chaos.  Are you looking for a remote survival property? Think very seriously about it. We did, and what follows is a checklist of considerations for finding a survival retreat. It is the culmination of a four-year …


Letter Re: The Profile of Wounding in Civilian Public Mass Shooting Fatalities

Dear Sirs, I read the excellent study (“The profile of wounding in civilian public mass shooting fatalities“) linked from SurvivalBlog on 7/30/16. The only criticism I have is the premise that civilian public mass shootings (CPMS) victims could receive prehospital care within 10 minutes and trauma center care within 60 minutes of injury. As we have seen in events such as the Orlando and Paris Bataclan nightclub capers, these goals are sometimes stymied. Insights I gleaned from the study are as follows: Blindly following an algorithmic approach to trauma care may lead you to select the wrong algorithm for the …


Readers’ Recommendations of the Week:

Reader J.B. recommended the Hardy Boys series: I’ve been reading the Hardy Boys series aloud to my children (three boys, one girl, ages 4,7,8,10), and I think I enjoy them as much as they do. Not only entertaining, it is quite refreshing to read how they solve problems with only their ingenuity and their bare hands. The boys are smart, funny, hard-working, and chivalrous to their young lady friends. They respect their parents. They know when and how to fight, build a fire, and track animals and people. They take the blame when necessary and work hard to make their …


Letter Re: Wounding Patterns

My disagreement with this report is more on the reasons behind rather than the method of the training. I believe in self care first, then buddy aid, then medics (EMTs), and then the hospitals. Prepping needs to hit all of these levels in regards to supplies and training. If the conclusion of the report is that tourniquets are not useful in an active shooter situation, then I think civilian medical training might have lost the reason the military emphasizes the tourniquet in its training. This report states the current medical training emphasis on hemorrhage control for civilians is over-rated in …


Recipe of the Week: Oven-Roasted Vegetable Medley, by L.H.

This isn’t so much a recipe, but a guideline – a very forgiving guideline – that basically works every time. It’s a wonderful method for cleaning out those bits and pieces in the refrigerator crisper drawer that might otherwise go to waste, and super easy to adapt to your family’s size and tastes. And did I mention that it’s a pretty healthy and delicious way to add more veggies to your family’s diet? Ingredients: 3-6 c. assorted vegetables, cut into similarly-sized pieces, about 1”x1”, or about the size of a medium broccoli or cauliflower floret (and don’t stress too much …


Letter Re: Sodium Hypochlorite Liquid

Dear Hugh, I recently came across some Sodium Hypochlorite liquid at the big orange box store. It is 10% solution for swimming pools. It is packaged in one gallon plastic containers with two bottles to the box. The regular price was eight or ten dollars but they had it on clearance for $1.83. I have seen people talk about using this stuff in powder form for purifying water and I’m wondering if the liquid will work the same or if it is too hazardous and troublesome to store and maintain. It says 13oz per 10,000 gallons of water will give …