Letter Re: The Best College Degrees for the Next Depression?

James, longer this [economic death spiral] goes on, the more it looks like this is going to be at least a decade before normality returns. So, if you’ve got a teenage kid you’re probably thinking, what kind of career (assuming we don’t totally melt down at a societal level) path he or she should take… I was talking to someone the other day and he told me his kid was studying art. “Oh, I asked, is he any good?” He replied “No, not really.” This family man is spending good money, money that could be put into preparations into a …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Kurt reminded me that the US Army’s Survival Manual (available for free download in PDF) has and appendix on Edible and Medicinal Plants. It includes a lot of color photos, which makes it a lot easier to identify plants.    o o o Some good news, especially for those of us that plan to stock up on winter-formulated gas: South Carolina gasoline hits 91 cents per gallon    o o o Robert S. in Las Vegas e-mailed to alert us: “While out shopping for post-Christmas deals yesterday we ran into a great deal on 20# propane cylinders (the standard BBQ …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It was the Wild West. If you were alive, they would give you a loan. Actually, I think if you were dead, they would still give you a loan.” – Steven M. Knobel, a founder of the appraisal company Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson, that did business with Washington Mutual (WaMu) until 2007, as quoted by The New York Times


Note from JWR:

If you find what you read in SurvivalBlog useful and that is has saved you from making some costly mistakes, I hope that you will consider joining the 2% of readers that have become voluntary Ten Cent Challenges subscribers. Many Thanks!


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Selecting and Assembling Web Gear

Mr. Rawles, Thank you very much for your web site. I have been reading it every day for the last two months. It is a wealth of knowledge. Read your book as well. I have been researching food, water et cetera for quite a while and your site has helped a great deal. My family will be quite prepared for whatever in short order. The one thing that ha me confused is web gear/tac vest/ALICE gear. In your book you refer to a certain type of web gear but I am having trouble putting all of the pieces together. I …


Letter Re: Soft Nose Loads for Battle Rifles

Dear James: Having recently acquired two M14 pattern rifles and some reloading equipment, I was interested to read yesterday’s article on using soft point ammunition in battle rifles. As a Canadian citizen, my main battle rifle options were quite limited. Firstly, our misguided “gun control” legislation prohibits civilian ownership of most main battle rifles; FALs, CETMEs, G3s and the like are all “prohibited firearms”. However, semi-automatic M14 variants, such as the M1A and Norinco/Polytech M14 clones, are “non-restricted firearms” and can be bought with ease, used for hunting purposes, etc. (traditional wood stocked appearances apparently can deceive gun control bureaucrats). …


Odds ‘n Sods:

American Fork [, Utah] Man Is Food Storage Fanatic    o o o Rod M. sent us a link to this tongue-in-cheek piece from Australia on the resurgence of survivalism: Where is The Safest Place on Earth? BTW, the article includes mention of our spin-off web site, SurvivalRealty.com    o o o Several readers sent this: Mormons prepared for hard times. While I’ll never see eye-to-eye with the LDS church doctrinally, I highly commend them for their food storage policy and their extensive cannery and bishop’s warehouse infrastructures.    o o o Another huge batch of economic news and commentary …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 20 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 20 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. …


The “Prepper-Lawyer” by The Fourth Whirlwind

I have been deeply perplexed ever since first beginning to read SurvivalBlog. Every night, while the wife and new baby daughter slept in peace, I have thought about my lack of tangible knowledge. Sure, I have many skills over a variety of useful tasks in our everyday lives, and even some that would help my family survive in a bad situation. But, when we have to be brutally honest with ourselves, self-doubt can get the best of us. I say this now because it was reading the highly useful SurvivalBlog that brought on this doubt for me. I wanted to …


Letter Re: Soft Nose Loads for Battle Rifles

Jim, I’ve only been reading your blog for a short time, but I find it both interesting and informative. Having been a hunter for the last 56 of my 64 years, I do wonder why anyone who plans on getting out of Dodge and heading for the woods would want a battle rifle with ball ammo when we won’t be bound by anything like the Hague Convention as to the ammo we use. Seems to me, that soft points would be a better choice and if the SHTF. My M1A will be traveling with me and will be loaded with …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent contributor Bill N. mentioned an interesting site on off-road driving. Bill’s comment: “The guy teaches 4WD recovery procedures and has several articles posted on his web site. I read his one on Hi-Lift jacks and learned some things.”    o o o KAF was the first of several readers to send us this: Homeland Security forecasts five-year terror threats    o o o Justin and Jeff both sent this, from The Wall Street Journal: Fourth Quarter Retail Sales Plummet.    o o o Reader Dan. H. mentioned this photovoltaic power system in the San Juan Island archipelago in Washington …



Letter Re: Advice in Storing Extra Gasoline in Cans at Home

JWR, Thanks so much for Survival Blog. It’s been an invaluable resource to me and my family as we prepare for what’s coming. This is the first time I’ve ever emailed you, but it’s with a question that I haven’t been able to find a good answer to elsewhere. I’m hoping you’ll share your advice. With the price of gas so low right now, I’m thinking it would be prudent to stock up. I’d like to have some on hand at my house to run the generator for small events like snowstorms and such, but I’d also like to have …