Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 22, 2023

March 22nd, 1821 was the birthday of Benjamin Tyler Henry. He was an American gunsmith and manufacturer. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle. The first Henry rifles were not produced for Union Army use until mid-1862. Henry died on December 29, 1898. This is the birthday of Louis L’Amour. (Born 1908, died 1988.) Some of his novels have survival themes. One of particular interest to survivalists is Last of the Breed. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — S.4986, the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today Act (SHORT) Act needs more co-sponsors. This bill would remove short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and other weapons from regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA). Given the ATF’s recent arbitrary redefinition of arm-braced pistols as SBRs, this bill is quite important. If elected, it …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 21, 2023

On March 21, 1556, Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury, was burned at the stake for violating heresy laws revised under the Roman Catholic queen Mary I. (“Bloody Mary.”) — We’ve reached the Vernal Equinox, so Spring is officially here. Though there is still some unusually late snow still on the ground here at the Rawles Ranch, it certainly feels like Spring. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, some more discussion of the Greater Idaho partition plan. (See the Regional News section.) Regional News Gem State lawmakers seem to be taking the ‘Greater Idaho’ movement seriously. Should Oregon? An excerpt: “Greater Idaho was always a longshot, and it’s come a lot further than …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 20, 2023

Mel Tappan was born 90 years ago today — March 20, 1933. He died in 1980. His perennially popular survivalist books Survival Guns and Tappan on Survival have a well-deserved following. I designated March 20th as National Survivalism Day, in his honor. It is also apropos that National Survivalism Day falls in March–one of the months that both Northern Europeans and Native Americans refer to as The Starving Season–when stored food runs low, but before spring bounty appears. Plan ahead. Stock up. Don’t let your family starve. – JWR — A new listing near Weaverville, North Carolina, over at my …


Recipe of the Week:  Winter Hearty Stew

The following Winter Hearty Stew recipe is from SurvivalBlog reader Richard T. Equipment Instant Pot or pressure cooker stock pot and strainer for noodles skillet for sauteing onions Ingredients 1 smoked pork hock (Easter ham trimmings, bacon, salt pork are good alternatives) 27 oz can of Southern Style mustard greens (or any fresh greens, but they must be chopped) 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes 1 medium sized yellow onion 1 – 8 oz can of mushroom pieces and stems 2 cups of dried black-eye peas (or canned black-eye peas) egg noodles Frank’s hot sauce (optional) salt & black peppercorns …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at guns as an investment and ongoing strong gun sales in the United States. (See the Tangibles Investments section.) Precious Metals: Gold and silver prices have both jumped up substantially in Dollar terms, since the banking crisis news broke on Wednesday, March 8th. Here is some analysis, posted over at Gold-Eagle.com: Bank Failures …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — March 19, 2023

On March 19, 1982, 50 Argentines landed on South Georgia in the Falkland Islands to plant the Argentine flag. They renamed the islands The Malvinas. This precipitated the Argentine army invasion on April 2nd. Despite some significant naval losses and dreadful weather, British Marines re-took the island on April 25th in a well-coordinated ground campaign.  The photo above shows some of the captured Argentine soldiers, at the end of the war. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power …



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 18, 2023

On March 18, 1837, Grover Cleveland, was born. He was the only U.S. president to serve two discontinuous terms (1885–89 and 1893–97). March 18th is the birthday of novelist John Updike. (He was born in 1932 and died in 2009.) It is also the birthday of Luc Besson, director and producer of films such as Nikita and The Fifth Element. He was born in 1959. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n …