Survivalist Skills–Secondary Skills from Your Day Job, by Rourke

In our modern world, jobs are incredibly and increasingly specialized. Many of us have jobs that may be of little use if TSHTF and society collapses. As many of us may have to look for another way to make a buck, or perhaps more accurately to trade or barter with, consider bettering yourself by attaining a high level of proficiency in at least one secondary survival skill (the more the better). I have listed below a few useful to survival skills, or secondary occupations that you can learn quite a bit about if you just treat it like a hobby, …


Letter Re: Fire Hose Outdoor Clothing, and FMJ vs. Hollow Points?

Dear James, Recently I received an interesting catalog in the mail. It’s from the Duluth Trading Company, and they manufacture rugged outdoor clothing made of fire hose material. http://www.DuluthTrading.com I have not tried any of their products yet, however, I plan to in the future and just wanted to share it with you and your readers for your and their consideration. I have a question for you too, if you don’t mind. Why is a FMJ round more desirable in combat than a Soft Point? My reasoning is that Soft Point ammo expands more, and creates a larger wound channel …


Letter Re: .45 ACP Stopping Power and the M1911

Mr. Rawles, First, I must say that greatly appreciate your website and the expertise that you share. I am 21, and am trying to lead getting my family and close friends prepared logistically for whatever may be coming down in the future. Your information and suggestions are a time/money saver (and likely eventually a life saver.) “Patriots” is an invaluable resource, and more can always be gleaned every time it is read. Thank you! I wanted to comment on the 45 ACP post from Dec. 20. I generally shy away from handgun discussions because handguns are a mediocre weapon, and …


Letter Re: Zenith “Trans-Oceanic” EMP-Proof Shortwave Radios

Jim: I just realized something that some of the SurvivalBlog readers might find interesting: All the older Zenith Trans-Oceanic radios have replaceable (“socketed’) transistors. The Zenith Trans-Oceanic radios model 1000 and 3000 all have Sockets. I recently replaced a PNP transistor in a 1962 Sony with a new 2N3906 and the radio worked! So, if someone buys one of these older multi-band shortwave radios with the transistor sockets, then they should buy a bunch of cross-referenced transistors and place them in a small metal can to protect them from EMP.  See: http://www.transoceanic.nostalgiaair.org/3000.htm Open the PDF file and you’ll see the …


Three Letters Re: Which Rifle and Caliber is the Best for TEOTWAWKI?

James: What about the M1A/M14? It would get my vote, even over the FAL. My M1A (“Irene”) has over 8,000 rounds through it, and has never so much as stove piped. And she is a real tack driver. – Gung-Ho JWR Replies:  I was a big believer in M1As from 1981 until 2003. (I owned five of them at one time.) But in Aught Three I faced facts, took a deep breath, and I sold my M1As and replaced them with L1A1s.  Functionally L1A1s are comparable (but, granted, not quite capable of  match grade M1A accuracy), and their accessories and spare …



Jim’s Quote of the Day

“Iran, Libya, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua — continents away, tens of thousands of miles apart, but the same goals and objectives. I submit to you that the growth in terrorism in recent years results from the increasing involvement of these states in terrorism in every region of the world. This is terrorism that is part of a pattern, the work of a confederation of terrorist states. Most of the terrorists who are kidnapping and murdering American citizens and attacking American installations are being trained, financed, and directly or indirectly controlled by a core group of radical and totalitarian governments — …


The Importance of Firewood or Coal Storage

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of having a large supply of fuel for home heating on hand. Ask anyone that has ever been through an ice storm in the northeast. Big ones happen  on average once per decade. These can be really nasty, knocking down hundreds of power lines, inducing power outages that can last for weeks. Those that heat their homes with natural gas, propane, or home heating oil furnaces find themselves out of luck when the power grid goes down. Even if they can keep their heater’s main burner on, there is no electricity to run the circulating …


Letter Re: Remington M742 as a Battle Rifle?

James: I have some ideas regarding using a Remington 742 as a main battle rifle (MBR) that you may find of interest. The Rem. 742 is a semi-auto rifle that can be chambered in .308 or 30.06 among other calibers. The standard detachable box mag holds 4 cartridges. But I found that you can get 10-round steel mags from Cabela’s for around $21.00 each. A used Rem. 742 can be purchased for about $350.00 depending upon the quality. This would get you a semi-auto rifle chambered in .308 or 30.06 with the capacity for multiple detachable mags. If you think …


Letter from Mr. Yankee Re: The “Expired” 1994 Gun Ban Still Plagues New Yorkers, and New Years Resolutions

Jim: Two quick points of interest: #1 – Here in New York state, the [Federal] 1994 ban did not sunset. The Federal laws that the rest of the nation enjoys freedom from after September 2004 [when the 1994 AWB‘s 10 year “sunset” clause went into effect], are duplicated by state law with no sunset provision inside New York State. #2 – As already noted on Survivalblog, New Year’s resolutions are a wonderful opportunity to reset our priorities. My resolutions will include spending the $6 per week formerly spent on a six pack of beer on an expanded reserve of family …


Two Letters Re: Considerations for Longer Term Survival

Jim: Norman has it right-on in his Wednesday’s post about taking things further out than one or two years past TEOTWAWKI. How about plans for the rest of your kid’s lives? Not stockpiles, mind you, but plans. That means forethought, how-to manuals in the old ways for people to read when they have run out of modern technology (and options), or when they need to use unfamiliar technology-free appliances, and so on. For instance, I have just ordered a spinning wheel made in Holland, foot powered, that will be possible to repair with even hand carved wooden parts and simple …


Four Letters Re: Which Rifle and Caliber is the Best for TEOTWAWKI?

Jim: Did you select the HK rifles for northern nations because of cold weather reliability? Also note that my reading of New York state law includes an unenforced ban on receivers of the semi auto rifles banned under federal law in 1994. This includes FALs and AKs but not HKs or CETMEs. Yes I know that there are thousands of AKs and FALS inside N.Y. state, but I believe that they are still banned under N.Y. State law. [Some commentary for the upcoming Threats survey snipped for later use.] Thanx, -Mr. Yankee JWR Replies: Yes, I partly recommended HKs for …


Jim’s Quote of the Day

“By calling attention to ‘a well regulated militia’, the ‘security’ of the nation, and the right of each citizen ‘to keep and bear arms’, our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the  defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will  always be …


Note from JWR

Today we present another article from Rourke, one of our prolific SurvivalBlog contributors. (He is also the organizer/editor of Yahoo’s Survival Retreat and Secure Home Forum.)  We are grateful to Rourke for sharing his knowledge and insights.