Letter Re: South Dakota as a Retreat Locale

I read your statistics. They are pretty accurate for West River (west of the Missouri), but not so accurate for East River. East River has a steady population growth, especially south of Sioux Falls. This is mostly due to the explosive growth of the medical industry. Much of it is zone 5 for growing, with some zone 6 (and zone 4) microclimates. They have excellent rainfall, lesser amounts of snow and more moderate seasons. Winter nights rarely reach -20 F. There is a cold period usually in January that lasts about three weeks. At this time, temps can reach the …


Letter Re: Some Technologies for Retreat Security

JWR: In regards to reader Erik’s setup of his “trap” gun: This setup is very very risky business [and an invitation] for a lot of very bad litigation. I am a law student at a top ten law school (yes, there are some of us who are not so elitist to think government will solve everything!) and know for a fact that trap setups are highly illegal [in most jurisdictions] and will subject you to 100% liability even if the injured of deceased trespasser was in the process of committing a felony–even murder! Traps cannot be used as recourse for …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Inyokern flagged this: Pandemic Planning Reveals 30-Day Power Plant Coal Supply    o o o I recently updated our Affiliate Advertisers page. Please shop with our our paid advertisers first. (See the scrolling ads in the right hand bar of the main blog page.) But if they don’t have what you are looking for, then please shop with our affiliate advertisers here in the U.S. as well as in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the UK. (When you shop with our affiliate advertisers, SurvivalBlog will receive a small commission on each purchase.)    o o o Mike …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“People who object to [privately-owned] weapons aren’t abolishing violence, they’re begging for rule by brute force, when the biggest, strongest animals among men were always automatically ‘right.’ Guns ended that, and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make it work.” – L. Neil Smith


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 19 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The contest prizes include: First Prize: The writer of the best contributed article will be awarded two transferable Front Sight  “Gray” Four Day Training Course Certificates. This is an up to $4,000 value! Second Prize: A three day course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing Round 19 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. …


Intellectually Self-Reliant Children: From Homeschooling to College, by “Hermeneutics”

Home schooling teaches kids an important virtue, intellectual self-reliance. Home schooling, well done, permits a child to “learn to learn” as well as learn to learn … by himself. A home schooled child, for example, does not learn in peer groups, a common practice in schools today. Rather, by himself, the home school child reads a text, sorts through conflicting facts and information, and makes judgments that ring true to his experience and understanding. A home schooled child struggles intellectually without turning to peers, teachers or authority figures. In short, he thinks for himself. Critics of home schooling often claim …


Two Letters Re: Finding Abandoned Properties, Post-TEOTWAWKI?

Sir, First let me say that I agree with the sentiments of D.O.’s reply to the original post. However; In a situation even less drastic than another depression, I believe there will be ‘abandoned’ properties everywhere you look due to foreclosures and displaced persons that can no longer find viable employment and have moved in with family or on to ‘greener’ pastures. The homeowners that lived in them, built them, and called them home, will not own them anymore. These homes will still have an owner, that would be the ‘bank’ that held the note, and also in some cases, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Chris S. sent us this frightening glimpse of how a post-TEOTWAWKI society might operate: Somali towns run on pirates’ treasure. It sounds like they are in need of a Barbary solution.    o o o Matt mentioned that South Carolina has enacted (over their Governor’s veto) a 2nd Amendment Recognition Act that creates a two day ‘sales tax free’ holiday on firearms following Thanksgiving 2008. I hope that this catches on in other states    o o o Alaskaman flagged this: There is No Secret Sauce: The Truth About ‘Deflation’    o o o David B. pointed out that three …



Note from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,050. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes: A.) 15 brand new 30 round M16/M4/AR-15 magazines from JWR‘s personal collection. These include four scarce and desirable brand new HK steel “Maritime Finish” magazines, and 11 new USGI alloy magazines made by Center Industries. (Note that most of these were made during the 1994-2004 Federal ban, most of them have restriction markings, but those became null and void after the ban sunsetted.) Even if you don’t own an AR-15, these magazines are great to keep on hand …


Letter Re: Some Technologies for Retreat Security

Jim I’ve put together a few ideas on retreat security that I haven’t seen on your great site. I may have missed them but I think they would bear repeating. I presently live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but will soon be moving to my 280 acre ranch in central Nevada. What got me to write this was a realization during my semiannual chore of servicing the emergency generator. Changing out the gas (It is also set up to run it on propane) changing the oil, and testing the circuitry, I realized that what I thought was a good setup was actually …


Letter Re: Determining the Best Pistol Ammo to Store for Barter

Mr. Rawles; The Old Yooper’s statistics on range brass may be somewhat skewed in favor of automatic pistol cartridges because revolvers do not [involuntarily] eject spent rounds. Few cops are ‘gun guys’ but anyone who reloads saves their brass. This is easier to do if you don’t have to chase them, so a higher percentage of auto pistol cartridges are left behind. This having been said, I don’t think anyone will go far wrong stockpiling 9mm, . 40 S&W, and .45 ACP–both live rounds and spent brass. The pocket pistol cartridges are less attractive to reloaders, but I would not …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Government warns of “catastrophic” U.S. quake in New Madrid Seismic Zone    o o o David V. sent this: Argentine Stocks Threatened as Biggest Holders Seized.    o o o There is an old saying on Wall Street: “Nobody beats the bear.” That was recently proven out by Warren Buffett, the legendary manager of Berkshire Hathaway. Because of some bad trading decisions, the company’s share value has declined $23 billion since September 17th. Buffett’s company had a value over $55 billion, but now they’re down to just over $32 billion. That is still quite a nest egg, and they’ve still …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"No one can read our Constitution without concluding that the people who wrote it wanted their government severely limited; the words ‘no’ and ‘not’ employed in restraint of government power occur 24 times in the first seven articles of the Constitution and 22 more times in the Bill of Rights." – Edmund A. Opitz


Notes from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $960. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes: A.) 15 brand new 30 round M16/M4/AR-15 magazines from JWR‘s personal collection. These include four scarce and desirable brand new HK steel “Maritime Finish” magazines, and 11 new USGI alloy magazines made by Center Industries. (Note that most of these were made during the 1994-2004 Federal ban, most of them have restriction markings, but those became null and void after the ban sunsetted.) Even if you don’t own an AR-15, these magazines are great to keep on hand …