Letter Re: Advice on .308 Enfields Versus AKs for Barter/Charity

Mr. Rawles: I am writing concerning the letter in which the gentlemen suggested using Enfield 2A Ishapores for Barter/Charity. In my opinion, you would be better off buying an SKS than an Enfield 2A Carbine. The SKS is cheaper at $179.95 (at AIM Surplus) compared to the Enfield at $229.95, and it comes with a bayonet. The SKS can be easily modified to accept 30rd magazines which are easily available, whereas the Enfield is limited to 10 rounds and the magazines are hard to come by. I have not been impressed with the ProMag Enfield 2A magazines. None of the …


Letter Re: “Patriots” and Other Preparedness Titles Not Available at All Libraries

Dear Mr. Rawles, I was at my local public library and noticed they did not have a copy of your novel [“Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”]. I inquired of our head librarian and she agreed to order your book. As a matter of fact, she ordered it while I was chatting with her. Perhaps some more of your loyal readers would be willing to contact the many public libraries and ask them to order some specific books. They too might order your book as well as other preparedness books. Respectfully, – Happy Howie JWR Replies: I appreciate that suggestion. In …


Odds ‘n Sods:

John and Abigail Adams suggested this training video on the use of the Israeli field dressing.   o o o RBS thought that readers might enjoy reading this report from Afghanistan: ‘I could feel the breeze as the bullets went by’    o o o Reader Nick M. alerted us to the fact that the Popular Mechanics August “Survive Anything” cover story (previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog) is now available on their Web site to read for free download. Nick’s comments: “The series of articles discusses how technology has made humanity more comfortable, but how our reliance on it has also …




Letter Re: Suitability of Missouri as a Retreat Locale?

Dear Mr. Rawles, In response to your post replying to ‘Marie R.’ regarding Missouri as a retreat location; here is some information that other families on this blog may find interesting. I’m writing this as someone who has a wide venue of travel and associations across the country. I am a professional trucker, a licensed ham radio operator for over 35 years, and was employed in the defense electronics industry for many years. I have been preparing for TEOTWAWKI here in the mountains of the Arkansas Ozarks for some time. With no disrespect to your research and personal choice(s) for …


Letter Re: Steam Locomotives in a Post-TEOTWAWKI World?

Dear Jim and Family, Its true that boiler maintenance and safety are a serious concern. As my wife is a rail fan (train chaser), she knows a bit, and knows people who know a lot more. One of these was kind enough to send me this info in his reply. “Bear in mind that the great costs mentioned are all meant to get the boilers up to federal-mandated standards, i.e. extremely safe conditions. If you just want to get it to function, you don’t have to do near as much work. The problem of course is that while under steam …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Our friend Nick recommended this article by Douglas MacKinnon at Townhall.com: The Two Things To Know Before Your City is Nuked By Terrorists   o o o My thanks to “J”, who gave a prominent plug for SurvivalBlog over at The Rumor Mill News Reading Room.    o o o Alphie sent us this one: NYPD Warns Of Homegrown Terror Threat



Note from JWR:

We are pleased to announce the launch of a SurvivalBlog spin-off web site, www.SurvivalRealty.com. Be sure to check it out. You will find that it is a truly unique web site. All of the properties there are suitable for survival retreats. You will see no urban or suburban properties, no time shares, no condos, and no McMansions on postage stamp-size lots. This is a pleasant change from searching typical Internet real estate sites, where finding a survival retreat is like finding a needle in a haystack. The properties featured at SurvivalRealty.com will come from both licensed agents and “For Sale …


Letter Re: Recent Floods in the UK and the Impact on Our Preparations

Further to my recent post about the recent flooding In the UK, things in the immediate area are pretty well back to normal now, aside from some continuing disruption to the road network due to land-slips, undermining and in some cases, bridges across water courses being washed away. Here, we got off very lightly, compared to some. No loss of life, no injuries, very little property damage. There are many families, however, who will be counting the cost of this incident for a long time, both in terms of loss of loved ones and of property and livelihood. One’s heart …


Letter Re: Advice on Pump Action Shotguns

Dear Mr. Rawles, Regarding your recent comments on shotguns, I’d like to add the following opinion: I own a gun shop and I get -many- people looking to buy their first shotgun. The first question I ask them (and probably a good question to ask ones self before making any purchase) is: “What do you intend to use it for?”. Different guns for different purposes. When they tell me they want an all around do everything shotgun (which is how the shy and low-key convey that they want a defensive shotgun), the choice usually come down to the Mossberg 500 …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Daniel C. mentioned that a PDF of the book The Alpha Strategy by John Pugsley is now available for free download. (This is the key book that I mentioned in the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course.) I highly recommend Pugsley’s book, which is considered a classic in preparedness circles. It was one of my main influences when I first formulated my investment strategy, back in my late teens. I owe Pugsley the credit for the many useful tangibles that are stacked on the shelves down in Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR). Many of those items were …



Note from JWR:

Congrats to Mike in Missouri, the high bidder in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a Big Berkey water filter. Today we begin a new auction. This one is for a SteriPen UV light water sterlizer, complete with a solar charger and pre-filter, donated by the fine folks at Safecastle. Also included as a bonus in this auction are three autographed copies of books that I’ve authored. Be sure to visit the Safecastle web site and see their broad line of survival and preparedness products, as well as details on their storm/blast/fallout shelter engineering and construction services.