Letter Re: Garage and Yard Sales as a Retreat Logistics Source

Hi Mr. Rawles, I’ve been able to pick up a lot of gear at garage and yard sales. Most importantly, I’ve found many practical books at yard sales and junk stores that sell books for $1 or even just 25 cents each. I was able to pick up a home medical adviser from the 1920s for 25 cents. I have also bought numerous books on small scale farming, canning, food storage, and living off the grid from the 1920s for a dollar each. Much of the information would be relevant to a post-TEOTWAWKI, as it was written for farmers or …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader John M. mentioned: “With Christmas coming up, this is a great time to ask friends and co-workers to save their empty popcorn and cookie tins. Placing small electronic items in the smaller cookie tins and then nesting those tins inside the larger popcorn tins is an inexpensive way to provide a measure of EMP shielding. And the price is right!”    o o o The special 33% off sale for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course ends on November 30th. Be sure to place your order soon. The course only rarely goes on sale.    o o o …



Note from JWR:

I am very pleased to report that the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course from Arbogast Publishing is now on sale, at 33% off the normal retail price! This publisher’s special pricing will only last for just over a week, so don’t hesitate! To get the special sale price, all orders must be placed online or postmarked by November 30th. Get a copy for yourself, or one or more to give as Christmas gifts for your relatives that have their heads in the sand.


Letter Re: Electronic “Cash” in the Event of a Banking Emergency?

Jim, What if the banks were closed for a Bank Holiday by the President, for let’s say one week. Question: Could one still use their credit card? Or is the system intertwined? Keep up the great work you do and service you provide the world. – David V JWR Replies: In the event of a national banking crisis and bank “holiday”, I predict that all bank doors will be closed and that every form of electronic money will be inoperative (ATMs, debit cards, credit cards, et cetera.) You might be able to write checks at some local businesses, but don’t …


Charity During Hard Times, by Grandpappy

Hard times usually result in an overwhelming number of people who: 1. Do not have a job of any kind, and 2. Have no steady income from any source, and 3. Are usually either homeless or are living with close relatives. During hard times these individuals need almost everything, including food, shelter, clothing, and basic medical care. During really hard times the large and growing number of homeless individuals greatly exceeds the carrying capacity of the local community in terms of voluntary charitable donations. There are just not enough homeless shelters and free food/soup kitchens that provide one meal per …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Dave M. sent us this: A perfect storm for gold as mines left empty.    o o o Here is some more hot air from the Treasury Department: Paulson Signals He Expects U.S. Dollar to Rebound. “And if you believe that…”    o o o I heard that Ready Made Resources has added very compact Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit to their product line. It includes a couple or my favorite pieces of field gear: a Blast Match and a SaberCut™ Saw. (The latter is a sort of “hand chain saw”. These cut tree limbs very fast!) OBTW, they also …



Five Letters Re: New-Found Respect for .223 as a Potential Man Stopper

Jim, In response to Martin’s recent letter [“New-Found Respect for .223 as a Potential Man Stopper]: While the .223 (5.56mm NATO) round may work on the unsuspecting deer or thin-skinned varmint that is standing still, the situation changes when you are dealing with larger animals or highly aggressive and motivated individuals. In times like these, a .30 caliber round, i.e. the .308 (7.62×51 NATO) or Soviet 7.62x39mm is a more dependable man stopper. Why do you think there was a move to the larger 6.8mm round to replace or at least supplant the 5.56mm? Poor performance on the battlefield. Most …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A huge list of outdoor survival web site links was recently posted over at the Gulching/Self-Sufficiency forum at The Mental Militia Forums.    o o o I’m now ten chapters in, reading my copy of Michael Z. Williamson’s latest science fiction novel “Better to Beg Forgiveness“. It is set a couple of centuries in the future and follows the adventures of a band of mercenaries sent to guard a national president on a war-torn backwater colony planet. I got a slow start reading the book, given the time constraints of elk and deer hunting season, but now I’m hooked. Thusfar, …



Note from JWR:

Welcome to the many new SurvivalBlog readers in India. Swaagut! (I noticed quite an increase on the most recent update to the ClustrMap for Asia.) Our readership worldwide continues to grow rapidly. With almost 2.25 million hits logged, we are now getting more than 49,000 unique visits per week and burning up 90 gigabytes of bandwidth per month! (Which is a lot for a blog without many graphics.) Thanks for spreading the word, folks!


Letter Re: Preparedness for Urbanites on a Tight Budget

Jim: I just finished reading “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”, and it was great. It was very enjoyable and also worthwhile which is a rare combination in fictional literature these days. While considering my own situation I had some thoughts which might benefit other people or at least be food for thought. I am a college student and with that comes little expendable income and living in a relatively small space in a relatively large town. in short just about the worst situation possible from a preparedness standpoint. Like many readers I am not in a place where buying 40 …


Three Letters Re: Storage Foods for Vegetarians?

James: I know there are a lot of dedicated vegetarians, including my own grandson, who would have great difficulty maintaining their ideal diet in extreme times. There is good chart available, listing plant food protein combinations I feel that many would have to become more realistic as the hard labor required to stay alive would preclude being picky about your vittles! You would need the extra calories/fat in meat at least to a modest extent to keep up strength and vitality. We eat vegetarian 2-to-3 times weekly just to learn about it and because we just plain love veggies but …


Letter Re: Will “Jericho” be Affected by the Current Screenwriter’s Strike?

Hi Mr. Rawles, Do you know if the Hollywood writers strike will effect the filming of the CBS television series Jericho? If the [spilt season] filming has been completed, I guess that maybe the strike could be the best thing for Jericho since it would be an all-new show in a lineup of [other shows that are] repeats. Regards, – Sam JWR Replies: I haven’t heard per se, but it is probably safe to assume that most of the Jericho scripts are written by Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) members. I heard from Rourke–the moderator of the Jericho Discussion Group–that …