Letter Re: Flash Hiders for Bolt Action Rifles

Mr. Rawles, In your novel [“Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”], you mentioned having bolt action rifles fitted with flash-hiders., to kinda “tacticalize” a civilian rifle. What type of flash hider do you recommend, these days? My gunsmith (locally) says that he can thread the muzzles on my two bolt guns to 1/2 x28 threads. But all of the flash hiders with that thread that I’ve seen advertised are for 5.56/.22 bullets. Solutions? Thanks Much, – Marty in Rhode Island JWR Replies: Previously, I used drilled out Vortex flash-hiders, to provide .308 bullet clearance. But I now recommend the Hurricane flash-hider, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I was pleasantly surprised with the first two episodes of the new BBC television series “Survivors”, that debuted last month. It is a remake of the British series from the 1970s, produced by Terry Nation. Aside for some anti-gun stereotypes (the only characters shown acquiring guns are “Tom Price”–a convicted murderer, and “Dexter”–a drunken sociopath), the story thusfar seems fairly plausible. The acting, cinemaphotography, production value, and music all seemed above average for a television series. I got a BBC review copy, but I’ve heard that the series will be available at a site called Mininova. (But I don’t think …



Notes from JWR:

We’ve completed the judging for the latest round of our nonfiction writing contest. The judging was difficult, because we had so many great entries. The first place winner is Carolyn W., for her lengthy article Gardening and Seed Saving. She wins first prize: two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value. Second prize goes to “Hermeneutics” for her article Intellectually Self-Reliant Children: From Homeschooling to College. She will receive a three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. Third …


Overseas Retreat Owner Profile: Mr. and Mrs. Zephyr in Trinidad and Tobago

PRESENT HOME: A rental three bedroom roomy apartment in suburbs. One hour from capital city of 30,000 on a relatively large Caribbean island, with nearer smaller towns. Ten minute drive to large mall, and ‘Big Box’ mart. Ages: 44 and 28 SOs: Two children, 12 year old and 2 year old. ANNUAL INCOME:varies from $9,000 to $13,000. PROFESSION: Photographer/Entrepreneur and Seamstress/Homemaker INVESTMENTS: Various modest financial tools including stocks, CDs, savings, mutual funds, annuity, and Silver Eagles. VEHICLES: Nissan station wagon (2000), 18-speed mountain bike FIREARMS BATTERY: No firearms, due to excessively restrictive, outdated, draconian, colonial laws. Also, most government policy …


Letter Re: Another Perspective on Vehicles for Prepared Families

Hi, We’ve read your blog pretty faithfully for some time now and found it extremely good in all regards. While I’m actually writing regarding vehicles, I’d like to share for just a moment how preparedness saved our behinds recently. This year we have had a string of minor events that collectively should have put us in the poor house. Broken bones, loss of a tenant and friend to a heart issue, surgery, car accident that totaled the vehicle – right in the middle of the other mentioned things – and a few other items too. Had we not maintained a …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I found this linked over at TMM Forums: Biodiesel home-brewers on the rise, with many skirting regulations    o o o If you’ve ever wondered why the precious market is so volatile, this piece by Jason Hommel makes it quite clear: The Tiny Size of the Gold Market. It doesn’t take much to move such a thin market.    o o o I’ve often mentioned the utility of owning Foodsaver vacuum packing unit. We have one here at the Rawles Ranch that we’ve used regularly for 15 years. The only drawback has been their high retail price. But for a …



Two Letters Re: Gardening and Seed Saving, by Carolyn W.

Dear JWR The article by Carolyn W. on gardening and seed saving was fantastic. Having gardened all my life (60+) and converted to open pollinated seed at the urging of the Holy Spirit in 1992 I know that she has covered this subject very, very well. The one problem for most just now starting is that it will take time to learn all that is necessary to put food on the table. When I first started to grow tomatoes from seed it took me three years to be successful. I pray that others learning curve will be much shorter. Get …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Rainwater Catchment and Filtration

Sir: I am an environmental engineer. You posted a letter that inquired as to whether a ceramic water filter was capable of removing chemicals that leach from plastic containers. The answer is no, a ceramic microfilter will not remove the chemicals. Aside from reverse osmosis, which requires pressures that are too high [for treating large volumes of water] in a survival situation, the best choice for treating water with chemical contaminants is to use activated carbon. Activated carbon is very cheap, widely used by municipal water treatment plants, and is highly effective at removing many organic contaminants (through adsorption). I …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Glenn in Arizona mentioned that Bill Ray of The Register, draws some good practical conclusions after watching the remake of the British television series Survivors.    o o o The Chartist Gnome mentioned that he expects a breakdown in the current strength of the USD Index in the next few months. He wrote in a recent e-mail: “The [US] Dollar strength we saw was based on the relative weakness of the Euro, not any inherent strength in the Dollar. (Because here [in Europe] funds managers use more leverage than [is] used in the States, the [banking] crisis has hit Europe …




The Coming Great Depression, by Charles Hugh Smith

I have been asked to address the coming Great Depression which is slowly but surely enveloping the globe. The irony of doing so in Thanksgiving week is not lost on me, and I want to preface my commentaries by saying that I do not tackle the subject cavalierly. There will be great suffering, on many levels, and the entire point of analyzing the situation is to lay the groundwork for alleviating the suffering by getting to the root causes of the financial, social and environmental disasters which are unfolding globally. Let’s start with the view of the U.S. from orbit. …


Letter Re: Grab-and-Go Soup Mix for Bug-Out Bags

Hello Jim, First let me say how much I appreciate your site and how much I’ve learned from it. I visit it usually a couple times a day as I’m trying to fill in gaps in my preparedness plan. I thought I’d share a few tips. Over the past couple years, I’ve bought about a dozen Nesco American Harvester food dehydrators and have set up an assembly line to dehydrate several cases of fruits, vegetables and meats every week. In the off-season when fresh produce is relatively expensive, I switch gears and buy cases of canned vegetables and proceed to …