“Live every day as if it is your last, for one day you’re sure to be right.” – Edward Woodward, portraying Harry Harbord Morant, in the movie Breaker Morant, 1980. Screenplay by Jonathan Hardy, David Stevens, and Bruce Beresford, based on the stage play by Kenneth G. Ross
Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady …
What will you do when your fuel runs out, or your energy system fails? How about burning wood? I used to dismiss burning things for energy off-hand as a dirty and wasteful heating tool, nothing more – not a source of actual power or energy. However, learning what I have in the past few months has given me a new appreciation for this readily-available resource. My perspective was changed somewhat, and it was kind of a shock to me, because i’m pretty open-minded to alternative solutions. My mindset is this: until I have a wealth of food and supplies in …
I’ve been a prepper for several years now. Living in South Louisiana kind of forces one to be with the high probability of hurricanes. I’ve taken it to the next level and want to be as prepared as possible not just during the summer months for hurricane season, but year round for the litany of other possible disasters whether they be natural or man-made. With the help of this site and several others I thought I was well on my way to having things pretty well covered. We have the house prepared for a temporary short term dislocation, and a …
Sir, One of your readers emailed you regarding using a $38 tool box in lieu of funds for a “great professional” military or civilian aid bag. I would highly recommend to Big Mike to seek out flea markets, garage sales and the like (also Craig’s List) in his area. I recently attended a local flea market and purchased a great COMPACKTEAM compression pack for $25 that’s larger than my $130 military pack! Way bigger and with more support than my US Army issued assault pack (the new age kind that hook to one’s ruck sack). Sometimes you luck out, but …
For nearly a decade, I’ve advised buying silver rather than gold. This is because 1.) Silver is more useful than gold in post-disaster bartering, 2.) I expect the silver to gold ratio to continue to fall, perhaps to as low as 16:1. And, 3.) The chance of silver ever being confiscated by bureaucrats is much lower than for gold. If you are planning to ratio trade out of gold into silver then try to sell your gold coins on a up-spike day, and then wait briefly and buy silver on the next dip day. That might make the dealer’s commissions …
Ron G. sent this: The Psychology of Disaster o o o K.A.F. recommended a site with a lot of recipes for storage food: EverydayFoodStorage.net. o o o Thomas M. pointed me to the documentary film The Battle of Chernobyl, available for free streaming. o o o Reader Tim R. suggested this news article: Japan’s mafia among the first to organise and deliver aid o o o Here’s an interesting new product: The Sun E-Box. Keep in mind that for those that are handy with tools, that the same components are available off the shelf. Also, several …
“If we let one ant stand up to us, then the other ants, who outnumber us 100 to 1, will all stand up to us. And if they ever figure that out, there goes our way of life… It’s not about food, it’s about keeping those ants in line.” – Hopper (the Grasshopper Leader), in A Bug’s Life (1998), voiced by Kevin Spacey. Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw
For those that have asked: Yes, the SurvivalBlog archives on CD-ROM are indeed fully searchable in both the HTML and PDF versions. (Both formats are included on the CD-ROM.) And Yes, the archives also can be sorted by categories, in HTML. (So for example, you can see just the articles on Earthquakes, or just the articles on Gardening.) The CD-ROM is optimized for modern laptops, but could conceivably be used on other devices if they have the requisite processing horsepower. It is now orderable through Lulu.com, for $19.95. Even without an Internet connection you will have all of SurvivalBlog’s archives …
Many readers have been sending me questions about radiation. One, from a reader in Los Angeles asked: “Mr. Rawles, Should I sleep in my basement for the next few weeks?” Please don’t over-react, folks. I must state, forthrightly: 1.) The gamma emitters at the Fukushima reactors (and more importantly, their spent fuel ponds) are a long, long way from America. 2.) In my opinion, the only significant risk to health here in CONUS is possibly a chance that a bit of radioactive dust (with isotopes like Strontium-90 or Iodine-131) could end up deposited on pasture grasses and then subsequently become …
Make no mistake, I really like .44 caliber handguns, and in particular, .44 Magnum handguns. I still remember getting my first .44 Magnum handgun, back in 1974. Like many guys, I loved the Dirty Harry movie series, with Clint Eastwood. So my first .44 Magnum was a S&W Model 29, with a 6.5″ Barrel. I can still recall the first cylinder of ammo I fired on the gun shops indoor range – my hand stung! Before reloading another 6 rounds, I noticed that the grips on the Model 29 had cracked – on both sides – from the recoil. Luckily, …
Dear Jim, One huge disadvantage of sailboats is that one must comply with the firearm/weapon laws of every port one plans to visit. This means in most cases, nothing larger than a pocketknife, and not even flare guns in some jurisdictions. I would be uncomfortable with this in peacetime. In a SHTF scenario with no coast guards to interdict pirates/smugglers/desperate refugees, I’d consider it suicide. The alternative is to carry credible weapons in violation of local laws. This is a poor survival tactic. If you are entering, or arriving from, a nation in distress, expect that your boat will be …
Mr. Rawles, I thought you might want to mention a product with your readers. I must admit that I am kind of a gear head and am constantly trying to come up with better ways to organize and store my preparedness supplies. The one storage issue that I have always been indecisive about was how I wanted to store my medical/trauma/surgical supplies. There are lots of great professional bags and military medical cases out there, however their cost just didn’t seem reasonable to me or my budget. One day while checking out the latest and greatest tools in my local home improvement store I came across what I …
Mr. Rawles, Your books are truly eye openers. Thanks for your work in the preparedness field. Regarding your recommendation of getting OC with at least a 12% concentration, as an OC instructor, I recommend that buyers ask: “12% of what?” A 12% concentration of a 250,000 Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) spray may prove ineffective. The true test of an OC spray is the SHU rating. I recommend a minimum 2,000,000 SHUs. The concentration only affects recovery time. The 5% is great for training. You should recover in 15-20 minutes. Anything over 10% is great for application to the faces of …
New at The Daily Bell: Bill Bonner on the Failing US Bond Market, the Coming Hyperinflation and the End of the Dollar Reserve System Mike H. spotted this: Russia: quake boosts used car prices Items from The Economatrix: Strong Economic Data Points to More Hiring Stronger Economic Reports Help Stocks Rebound Geithner Worries Japan Will Dump Treasuries to Raise Cash Unemployment Rises In Nearly All Metro Areas The World’s Best Gold Experts: “Buy And Hold”