Odds ‘n Sods:

Writing in yesterday’s Daily Reckoning, editor Bill Bonner observed: “People who lend in dollars get repaid in dollars. An obvious consequence of a falling dollar is that lenders have to expect to get less back than they originally invested. In the last few weeks, the dollar has lost about 5% against the euro. Yet, the 91-day T-bill lending rate is only about 4.90%. Go figure. Lenders expected only 4.9% on their money – for a full year. And in a few weeks, they’ve lost more than that, in international terms. What’s more, they still have to pay taxes on the …



Note From JWR:

We had elk and tomato sauce with our spaghetti dinner last night. Yum! We all love the taste of “elkison” here at the Rawles Ranch. There is no shortage of elk in this region. Speaking of which, the elk have recently come down out of The Unnamed Range of Mountains (TUROM) to winter in our valley. In hard winters–as it appears this one will be–we dispense a bit of charity in the form of salt blocks, C-O-B sweet feed mix, and hay to the local deer and elk. We also sometimes see wild turkeys, bear, and moose here at the …


Letter Re: Safe to Shoot 7.62mm NATO Ball in a .308 Winchester Civilian Sporting Rifle?

Hey Jim, My father recently gave me a Winchester Model 88 [civilian lever action sporting rifle] chambered in .308 [Winchester]. I’ve acquired a few rounds of 7.62×51 ball from a separate source. Can I use that ammo in the rifle? I’ve Googled to no avail. Can you help? Thanks, – d’Heat JWR Replies: The short answer to your question is: Yes. From a precise technical standpoint, they are not identical cartridges. Military 7.62mm NATO is almost dimensionally identical, but actually a hair longer than the SAAMI dimensional specs for .308 Winchester. Military 150 grain full metal jacket (“ball”) loads have …


Letter Re: Tool Chest Needs of the Survivalist

As a survivalist, you need a complete set of tools to keep your stuff running. As this could include cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, ATVs, bicycles, snowmobiles, little red wagons, etc. You might think that is already a fair number of different types of tools required. But what about other things you might need tools for? Some examples: Weapons – tools used by a gunsmith or armorer are rather specialized. General – Hammers are a common, but what about sledge hammers? What about post-hole diggers? Axes? Hatchets? Roofing hammers? Crow-bars? Saws? Levels? Mattocks? etc., etc., etc. Plumbing – Requires some specialized …


Silver–I Really, Really Told You So!

I noticed that the spot market price of silver closed at over $14 per ounce yesterday. Back when silver was around $7 an ounce I told you that silver was likely to double, and now, just 17 months later, it has indeed. I also predicted that silver would out-perform gold. I was right about that, too. As I’ve stated before, I think that we are in the opening phase of a multi-year bull market for precious metals, and a bear market for the dollar. I hope that you folks took my advice and bought some silver. Back on August 6, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader H.V. suggested this article: Zimbabwe Finance Minister promises to slash inflation by two-thirds. What a vast improvement! If he manages to accomplish this, then the inflation rate would only be around 400%, annually. Please pray that Comrade Mugabe and his henchmen leave Zimbabwe soon and that they are replaced with a legitimate, competent government. o o o Fred The Valmet-meister mentioned that he was experimenting with his Civil Defense surplus Geiger counter and was shocked at the high readings from his lantern mantles. “With Coleman [mantles], I got 800 – 1000 millirad. I also have a set of Primus …



Note From JWR:

The high bid is at $245 in the latest SurvivalBlog benefit auction, This one is for a big batch of 16 survival/preparedness reference books, courtesy of the fine folks at Ready Made Resources. (They are one of our first and most loyal advertisers. Be sure to visit their site and give them some business. BTW, they have additional copies of each of the titles listed below, as well as more than a hundred other titles.) Please submit your bid via e-mail. The auction ends on January 15th. The books in the auction lot include: 1. From Seed to Bloom- How …


Letter Re: Signs of Potential Currency Hyperinflation, by Lee Rogers

Jim, The article on currency hyperinflation [by Lee Roger, posted on November 30th] was interesting. However, trying to keep the puny penny alive to prevent hyperinflation is like trying to prevent floods by banning depth gauges. Someone will need to explain to me why we need any coinage with a denomination less than the value of a minute of a minimum wage worker’s time. For decades in earlier times, our smallest coin was worth about as much as out current dime. How many billions in wasted time would be saved if we had a simple coinage system that reflected real …


Letter Re: Muzzleloaders for Long Term TEOTWAWKI

Dear Mr Rawles, It is possible that I am simply not an attentive reader of the Survival Blog, so I may have missed this. However, it seems to me that rather than getting into technically very difficult and potentially very dangerous pursuits involving home-made brass & home-made primers, why not become proficient with a flintlock rifle? Flintlocks never went completely out of style, and there are many, many excellent makers today. In the hands of a practiced marksman, a flintlock is certainly the equal of any modern rifle out to 100 or 200 yards, and at the Battle of New …


Letter Re: A Further Slide For The US Dollar?

Jim, I wonder how many other folks have read this: ” …Ritholtz told WorldNetDaily that yesterday’s downward move “was a major market correction that points to the risk of subsequent downside to the dollar,” and “… but the recent fall suggests “the probabilities have increased of a major dollar correction, or even of a collapse.” ” The whole story can be found at the WorldNetDaily web site. – Joe from Tennessee


Odds ‘n Sods:

 Reader S.P. mentioned this interesting new photovoltaic power technology. Could a price breakthrough on solar panels be coming soon?   o o o In a recent phone conversation, The Chartist Gnome told me that there are now rumors of a U.S. Dollar collapse circulating on Wall Street. Echoing this sentiment came this article: about the dollar’s slide. The Dollar lost 1.7% against the Euro jut last week. (Thanks to Mike the Blacksmith for that article link.) My advice: Be like the Boy Scout. If you haven’t already, diversify out of dollars and into tangibles.    o o o Ben. L. …


The Memsahib’s Quote of the Day:

#2 Son, in the back seat of the car: "What was that I just saw run across the road? I just caught a glimpse." #1 Son: "I think it was a chipmunk." JWR, at the wheel: "To be precise, that was a Lesser Western Black Deathwish Chipmunk." #2 Son: "How can you tell the variety?" JWR: "Ah! Good question. The Deathwish subspecies nearly always starts to cross the road but then displays its second thoughts by stopping and rushing back from whence it came. Their odds of making it across a road are slightly better than playing Russian roulette."


Note From JWR:

In response to those that asked for details, my newly-released nonfiction book, Rawles on Retreat and Relocation is 225 pages, in 8-1/2×11 format, and wire-o bound, so that it will lay flat when open. There are lots of maps and a comparative table. In answer to those of you that asked for details about the contents, here is how it is organized: Introduction Chapter 1: Population Density and The Golden Horde Chapter 2: The Self-Sufficient Retreat Chapter 3: Climate and Growing Season Chapter 4: Water, Power, and Fuel Sources Chapter 5: Property, Income, and Sales Taxes Chapter 6: Weapons Laws …