Two Letters Re: Product Review of the MURS Alert Motion Detector/Alarm From Dakota Alert

Mr. Rawles: My friends and I have been using the MURS band for some time. It generally has better range than FRS/GMRS and is much less crowded. There is an interesting product available that works with these radios as a sort of “perimeter alarm” system. The MURS Alert from Dakota Alert is a small, weatherproof box that combines a PIR motion detector with a 1-watt MURS transmitter and a voice module. It uses six size AA batteries and has an advertised six month battery life. The unit is placed near a road, driveway, trail, etc and set up. When a …


Letter Re: Toy Making, an Overlooked Traditional Skill

Greetings James and Family, I just wanted to interject a category of books that should also be included in any home library. The category of ‘make it yourself toys’. I know it sounds odd, however children reared in the earlier industrial era as well as pre-industrial eras learned how to make there own toys. Several years ago I attended a book sale at our local library. They were discarding ‘old’ books on toy making and other crafts among their other titles. These books were published in the 30s through the 50s and were considered ‘out of date’. I picked up …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Yesterday, I helped a consulting client unload his household goods from a 26 foot U-Haul moving van, in a driving rainstorm. He is a prepper that naturally has lots of heavy six gallon food storage buckets, copious field gear, a gun vault, and more than 100 ammo cans. Let’s just suffice it to say that yesterday was a good day for practicing Christian patience and “building character.”    o o o Michael Z. Williamson found this site for us: Wildwood Survival, noting that it has some useful information on outdoor survival and primitive skills    o o o The folks …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It is customary in democratic countries to deplore expenditures on armament as conflicting with the requirements of the social services. There is a tendency to forget that the most important social service that a government can do for its people is to keep them alive and free.” – RAF Air Marshall Sir John Slessor


Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Since there have been so many great entries in this round of the contest, I will also be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win Round 7, start …


Wheat Sprouts and Wheatgrass as Survival Foods, by SF in Hawaii

One of the problems with stored food is the inevitable deterioration of the vitamin content. You don’t have to worry about the mineral content going anywhere but vitamins are notoriously fragile. While many have asked for the best kind of multi-vitamin supplement for long term storage, the answer for the survival community is simpler. Many of us have buckets of wheat stored. So make wheat sprouts and wheatgrass juice. Vitamins increase substantially during the sprouting process. In regards to wheat, vitamin B-12 quadruples, other B vitamins increase from 3 to 12 times and the vitamin E content triples. Vitamins A, …


Letter Re: Question About Humidity and Food Grade Plastic Food Storage Buckets

Hi, If food for long term storage is put in a plastic five gallon bucket with silica gel and a mylar bag, how much does it matter how humid the outside air is after it is completely packed? For instance, if the only place to store the food is in a shed outside will humidity in the air get into the bucket? How important is dry storage air to the time the food can be successfully stored. Thanks, – C.N. in North Carolina JWR Replies: Food grade plastic food storage buckets are designed to be air and moisture tight when …


Letter Re: Fireless Cooking in an Crock Pot Adapted Ice Chest, by B.B.

Mr R.: To follow up on B.B.’s article, the following piece may be from Kurt Saxon, or another brilliant reality-based mind like that. I apologize in advance for not having ironclad attribution on this. Awesome info in any case. The small stainless steel cookers/cups ( Thermos “Thermax” model ) will do the same thing on a smaller scale. Once again SurvivalBlog nails it with great information. – M.P. SAVING MONEY WITH A THERMOS BOTTLE First the thermos. There are three kinds but only one is practical. Forget the cheap, plastic ones lined with Styrofoam. These might cook oatmeal and white …


Odds ‘n Sods:

#1 Son Comments: The USDA seems to have given up on a mandatory NAIS. In their new Implementation Plan they say that they will rely on “market forces” to get full registration. I really doubt that they actually mean any of it, and their lawyers have just come up with some great weasel words. Or maybe the “market forces” will be states that want their subsidies back.    o o o Reader Jeremy I. sent us this link: Can the U.S. Economy Survive a Housing Bubble Bust?  


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them." – Justice Joseph Story (1779-1845) US Supreme Court Justice


Note from JWR:

Today we present another article submitted for Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Since there have been so many great entries in this round of the contest, I will also be sending out a few complimentary copies of my novel “Patriots” as “honorable mention” awards. If you want a chance to win Round 7, …


Stealth Inflation, by Inyokern

This is in response to this article you posted a link to The Fed and Baby Boomers. The Federal Reserve is trying its best to solve the incoming budget crisis as the baby boomers near retirement age. Soon a relatively low number of workers will be paying taxes to support a high number of retirees. Really unsustainable numbers are involved. So how do you solve it? Well, either you tell yourself that the youth will pay for it because they have no choice (which would be a bad assumption), or you find a way to make the money paid to …


Letter Re: Ponchos, Capes, Sleeping Bags, and Improvised Insulation

Ponchos and capes have been popular for centuries and for good reason. During the day they can be worn to protect you from the elements and at night, they double as blankets. Unlike cotton, wool retains it’s insulative qualities even when wet. Good quality wool capes can be found on sites that make items for renaissance fairs or you can make one yourself from an old wool army blanket or two. If you use a wool cape as your travel jacket, you will always have the basis of a shelter wherever you go. (Another advantage is that it also allows …



Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We ran into a pleasant interlude up in Vermont which emphasized the wisdom and social utility of the Vermont firearms laws. It seems that some foreigner from down below was in a supermarket when he observed one of the customers wearing a pistol openly. He got all flustered and immediately called 911. In due course a cop showed up and located the complainer, who pointed out the “culprit.” The cop agreed that the man really was carrying a pistol, and then he asked what the problem was. I suppose the poor fellow rushed off out the door and went back …