Notes from JWR:

I’ve begun drafting a new book, with the working title “Rawles on Guns and Other Tools for Survival.” This book will include an appendix that lists Gunsmithing Service and Parts Providers. If you have any favorite gunsmiths or gun parts dealers that you can strongly recommend from personal experience, then please send me their details, via e-mail. In particular, I’m looking for those smiths that offer the highest quality work at reasonable rates. Because many of these gunsmiths are only known regionally, I’m asking for your help on this. Please include mention of their specialties, web page URLs, phone numbers, …


Lessons From a Mini Orchard and Foraged Fruit–Using Free Food to Prep, by Sally M.

My husband and I moved cross-country to The American Redoubt this past spring with our two young sons.  We had never even visited this area, but our research over two years caused us to fall in love with an area we had never seen in person.  My husband flew out on his own about a month before our move and found us a rental house on a couple acres within our budget.  He thought he saw fruit trees at the time and took pictures to show me, but we couldn’t tell for sure. Our transition was very tiring and tedious, …


Letter Re: Guns for a Tight Budget Minimalist Survivalist

Dear Editor: I am 24 years old and struggling to get a career started in a field other than hospitality. I cannot afford a retreat, and have not had much luck joining other groups due to my lack of skills to the level desired, and my lack of money to afford all the prerequisites many groups have. My question is how can I best prepare to live out of my backpack in a tight spot? I have been training in certain areas like physical fitness and minimalist hiking. I did just obtain my Wilderness First Responder from Wilderness Medical Institute. …


Letter Re: Long Term Gas and Diesel Storage

JWR: Reader R.B. recently mentioned obtaining 55 gallon drums to store diesel as it “lasts for years.”   Gasoline will also “last for years” IF it is stored properly. I recently tapped into a 55 gallon drum that had been stored for 5 years – and was surprised to get 2-1/2 better m.p.g. while experiencing considerably more horsepower going up several mountain passes.  Some of this may be due to 5 year old fuel having a lower percentage of Ethanol than recent production.   USE A QUALITY PRESERVATIVE – I like Pri-G gasoline treatment, but STA-BIL seems to work as well, and use 25% …


Economics and Investing:

Gerald Celente Hammered By Margin Call on Gold Futures With MF Global. Learn from this pundit’s mistake: Keep your precious in metals in tangible form, in your personal possession, well-hidden at home. (NOT in “bonded vault storage”, or in a brokerage account, or in any form of futures, or in an ETF, or even in a safe deposit box. Physical metal in your possession trumps all! This also illustrates that whenever there is a financial panic, a cascade of margin calls can be devastating. California property assessments down only 4 percent from peak but home values are down by 37 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I had a couple of queries from SurvivalBlog readers about this news article: Google map mystery of giant lines spotted by satellite in Gobi desert. My guess is that it is a radar MASINT test field. (Note the variety of bistatic angles.) Without delving into the compartmented codeword realm, I can mention an open source reference to something analogous: the imaging target field at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Here, I’ll remind you that I wrote a series of articles about Fort Huachuca for Defense Electronics magazine, back in 1988. Hans Halberstadt, a well-respected and seasoned military photographer accompanied me there for …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) …


First Aid: From Sprained Ankles to Gunshot Wounds, by Big Country

As an avid outdoorsman, survivalist, Eagle Scout and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in training I know the importance of first aid and how it can mean the importance of  life and death. The proper first aid training is crucial in an ever changing world. I will discuss how to make a proper Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) that you can use for self and buddy aid. How to treat sprains, broken bones, environmental emergencies, bleeding control and sucking chest wounds. IFAK- Choosing the right bag or case is very important. Make sure it can hold all of your gear and …


Letter Re: A Surgeon’s Observations on Survivalism

I read with interest the data on food inflation recently on your blog. This confirms my own recent observations about food and hardware store items. Additionally, I have observed a drastic shift in the behavior of the people around me. When you think of survivalists you don’t generally picture of a bunch of guys and gals in surgeons scrubs discussing weapons. But they do, now. I have been a surgeon for over twenty years, and in the last two years much has changed. Conversations that used to begin with, “Have you ever seen a case of…?” now begin with, “Gold …


Letter Re: The Occupy Protests as an Illustration of Refugee Camp Living

Mr. Rawles, I wanted to stress for G.R. in Texas that refugee camp living is far worse than anything experienced at Occupy Wall Street. Those were comparatively small encampments of comparatively wealthy people (in a global perspective, I work with populations who make less than $1 a day), with largely similar ideological frameworks, in cities that provided a fair number of basic services. I’ve visited several refugee camps supported by tens of millions of dollars in foreign aid and I can say that when you have more than 10,000 people together aid money is barely enough to get basic supplies …


Letter Re: Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers

JWR- Dr. Ted is incorrect. "Dropping below 15% protein risks Kwashiorkor – it’s the reason why those starving kids in the television commercials have fat bellies – lack of protein actually causes more fat to be deposited!" More fat is not deposited. [A swollen belly in these cases is a symptom of] edema (fluid) that collects in the abdomen or feet. It comes from the capillaries when there is a lack of protein in the diet and the liver cannot produce enough albumin. Thus the blood is hypo-osmotic and fluid is lost into the peritoneum, also called third-spacing. – J.W.M.


Economics and Investing:

Reader F.J.R. suggested this from The Washington Times: Currency control efforts worry Argentines Guess How Many Americans Don’t Have Enough Saved To Cover A $1,000 Emergency? (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) B.G. spotted this: Fed Surveys: Economy in Worse Shape Than Feared, Recession Odds Spike to 50% Sign of the times: Complete, and Ongoing List of U.S. Retail Stores Closing in 2011 Calendar Year. (A hat tip to Kyle L. for the link.) Items from The Economatrix: US Companies Feeling Impact of European Crisis. JWR’s Comment: Just wait until there is the inevitable global cascade of margin calls. Europe’s …


Odds ‘n Sods:

By way of Tam’s blog: Superhydrophobic spray means no more clothes to wash. This somehow reminded me of the classic Alec Guinness movie The Man in the White Suit.    o o o George S. sent this: 22 Signs That The Thin Veneer of Civilization That We All Take for Granted is Starting to Disappear    o o os AmEx (American Expatriate) sent this: When the Cashier Asks for Your Zip Code. AmEx notes: “With your name and zip code they can do a reverse lookup and determine your address. That is a real breach of OPSEC.” JWR Adds:To minimize …