Wood Cookstoves: The Alternate Source For Your Everyday Life, by Sarah C.

Wood heat: Is it really the best source, and why? This seems to be a popular question. I’m sure you have heard about the many benefits of an alternative energy source, but how much do you really know about wood heat? Maybe you remember that you grandmother used to cook on a wood cookstove back in the day, but you probably assume that wood cooking is old fashioned and outdated — think again!  How much do you spend a year to heat your home? Not to mention the additional cost of cooking your food, and heating your water. We just …


Jim’s Product Review: 4,000+ Nights in a Wiggy’s Sleeping Bag

It has been nearly six years since I first posted my endorsement of Wiggy’s brand sleeping Bags, so the majority of SurvivalBlog readers have never read it. (As background: SurvivalBlog had only 9,377 unique visitors in August, 2005, but 287,665 last month.) So for the benefit of my newer readers, here is a re-post of that August, 2005 review: I don’t write many product reviews, but I am uniquely qualified to write this one: In November of 1994 I rolled my 1968 Bronco on black ice on a winding stretch of Highway 12 paralleling the Clearwater River in Idaho. In …


Letter Re: Prayer For Rain in Southern U.S.

Hi Jim and Family, If you have the time, will you please pray for rain in the South?  My extended family and I live in the Austin area.  The drought in the South, especially in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and parts of Louisiana is especially bad.  The temperature hovers around 100 degrees F every day.  Obviously, when your family has lived here all their/our lives, we cannot move to another state.  We have to stay here because of our jobs and each other.  If you don’t mind, please implore all of our dear readers of the SurvivalBlog, to please ask …


Letter Re: AR-7 Type .22 LR Survival Rifles

The debate on firearms manufacturers and caliber are endless, so each person must in the final assessment decide what works for them and theirs, having over 50 years of shooting, gunsmithing experience, and having taught firearms safety, I would like to offer a insight on a wonderful .22 rimfire rifle that is available from Henry Arms Company.  It is called the U.S. Survival Rifle .22. (A very appropriate name, for current conditions in this world).   I first owned a variant of this little rifle back in the 1980s when it was called the AR-7 and enjoyed the unique shooting and storage …


Economics and Investing:

Ol’ Remus talks economic collapse: We have arrived. He may be right. The debt-limit compromise in congress was a travesty. Tuesday’s drop in the Dow and the jump in gold signal that market senses some big changes in the near future. If the Federal credit rating slips below AAA, interest rates will rise, and there will be a nasty cascade of concommitant events. Buckle up! F.G. flagged this: Metal Detectors Hit the Jackpot J.J.G. sent a link to piece by Ann Barnhardt: We The Stupid. Real estate debacle: More than two years worth of shadow inventory overhang. That Which Is …


Odds ‘n Sods:

J.D.D. sent this piece about concealed carry in Michigan: 10 years after concealed weapons law, unclear why many in state were gun-shy. (The good news is that we’re winning: I found an animated GIF at Wikipedia that shows the advance of the right to carry laws since 1986. And guess what? There hasn’t been “blood in the streets” and “wild west shootouts.” Crime rates have actually been falling. Granted, this is partly because of our aging demographics. But I believe that some of the decrease in crime can be attributed to scared spitless criminals.)    o o o K.A.F. sent …



Note from JWR:

Today we present the first entry for Round 36 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 …


Survival Preparedness With Toddlers in Tow, by H.P.

As a former Boy Scout and long time minimalist, survival preparation is a natural fit for a “hobby” as I enter my thirties.  Of course this “hobby” is an important life decision, unlike how one might approach golf or poker.  The importance of this life decision really becomes clear when I think about my wife and our two little girls.  As anyone with small children will confirm, hobbies and social activities take a backseat to the needs of your toddlers.  My longtime interest in the outdoors, camping, and shooting have provided a sensible platform for a jump into the survivalist …


Letter Re: Physical Fitness and Trigger Time

JWR, After reading the recent MBR article by Zorro, it seems that all the amateurs still fuss over the 5.56/7.62 or 9mm/.45 debate. At our police agency here in the Southwest, we focus on increasing our trigger time via the SIRT laser training pistol, practicing fundamentals through live and dry fire, working through scenarios (lessons learned) and practicing “range fitness”. A great resource for range fitness is www.militaryathlete.com. Rob Shaul speaks of high percentage shooting positions based upon the experiences of combat veterans, as well as developing the fitness needed to put the gun in the fight.  It seems that …


Letter Re: Acquiring Hand Tools

Mr. Rawles:   Along the same line as Cadet’s recent piece about hand tools, I would like to add that this topic has been on my mind for some time.  I bought a file set from Harbor Freight just to have for light work around our retreat.  When I tried to sharpen an old Collins brand axe head with a fine file, the axe head took metal off the file!  My warning to SurvivalBlog readers: Save up a few extra bucks and buy new American made files that are actually harder than the steel that you intend to use them …


Economics and Investing:

Michael Panzner, over at his excellent Financial Armageddon blog presents some graphics with sobering statistics on personal debt in America. Chris G. suggested this photo essay on failed currencies: A Thousand Pictures Is Worth One Word R.J.K. sent: Three Reasons to Stick With Gold & Silver J.B.G. mentioned: Rhode Island’s Central Falls files for bankruptcy An interesting piece by Lorimer Wilson: July Update: Gold & Silver Warrants Index (GSWI) Several links courtesy of regular contributor John R.: When a Cut is Not a Cut (Dr. Ron Paul) Martin W. Armstrong: Uncle Sam – Dead Broke Who Can Take This Country …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mathew R. suggested the free firearms and combat survival training videos available at the ATACS web site.    o o o A piece by Tess Pennington, by way of Lew Rockwell’s site: Vaseline: A Multipurpose Prep Item    o o o Pentagon unveils its new cyberstrategy. Well, some of it, anyway. (Thanks to John R. for the link.)    o o o Some great commentary from Tam, over at her View From The Porch blog: I’ve never seen an engineer pretend to be a lawyer…    o o o Sean M. mentioned a useful rainwater calculator map, for estimating roof …



SurvivalBlog Writing Contest – Round 35 Winners Selected

We’ve completed the judging! The winner of First Prize in Round 35 of the SurvivalBlog writing contest is R.B. for The Will to Act: Your Ultimate Bug-out Kit which was posted on July 30th. As his prizes, he will receive: 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray …