Letter Re: Finnish Mosin Nagant 7.62x54R Rifles

Jim: Regarding the Finnish Model 1939 Mosin Nagant 7.62x54R Rifles being sold by AIM Surplus (See: http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/copy_of_Finnish_Model_1939_Mosin_Nagant_7.62x54R_Rifle.html) I was wondering what you thought of this rifle? Thanks, – Straightblast JWR Replies: Those are fine rifles, and the Russian 7.62×54 Rimmed cartridges (the same rounds used for the Dragunov) are cheap, fairly plentiful (mainly corrosively primed military surplus loads, however) and it hits about as hard as .30-06. The biggest detractor is that sporterizing parts for Mosins are much more limited than for Mausers. Rechambering is also more difficult. Quite a few of the Finnish M1939s were re-arsenalized using pre-1899 actions. …



The Best Pre-1899 Bolt Action?

I strongly believe that every prepared family ought to have one or two Federally exempt pre-1899 guns. Why? There may come a time in the near future when legislation will dictate nationwide gun registration.  But pre-1899s will presumably be exempt. To explain: Guns made in or before 1898 aren’t classified as “firearms” under the Federal law. They haven’t been, ever since 1968.  They are outside of Federal jurisdiction. Because of their very small numbers, in the eyes of legislators they are a trivial “non-issue.”  In the envisioned era that you are forced to either bury or register the rest of the …


From #1 Son: Stocking up on Home Schooling Curricula

An important item to remember to purchase in advance if you have children is extra home schooling supplies. You may remember trigonometry, but could you teach it to your children without any materials? If you self-quarantine your family because of a flu pandemic it will be nearly impossible to acquire books or other supplies. Post-TEOTWAWKI, after your generation is gone, advanced math and science will be rare and valuable skills.


Letter Re: Buying a Retreat Property and a Peak Oil Reference

I am fairly new to your blog, having been introduced by BulletProofMe.com. I have enjoyed reading it every now and then, and have been preparing for quite some time now. So you can imagine, I have most if not all the things you are talking about EXCEPT the place outside the cities, but that is being worked on as I write this, and HOPEFULLY we will buy some land soon. Just looking for the right place. Switching gears, I found some interesting information on Peak Oil, and why cheap oil is over forever. See the transcript available at: http://www.financialsense.com/fsn/BP/2005/1022.html – …



Note From JWR:

Please send me your favorite quotes and I’ll post them as “Quotes of the Day.” Today we present another entry for Round 2 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best article will win a four day course certificate at Front Sight. (An up to $2,000 value!)  The deadline for entries is the last day of January, 2006.


The Flea Market Survivalist, by C.G. in N.C.

Skill and etiquette in the process of bartering can be a plus today or in a future time when the world could be completely different. In that future time your local mass marketing chain may not be in business. You may have to resort to barter. I loved the scene in Mr. Rawles’s book, “Patriots”, when the group goes to the local barter faire with a handful of .22 cartridges and some pre-1965 dimes. I can’t recall everything they got, but for their initial, pre-TEOTWAWKI investment, they came out way ahead. I have to confess to being a flea market …


Letter From a UK Survivalist

Dear Jim: I am a UK-based wilderness survival instructor and have been enthusiastically reading the content of your website as well as your postings on FALFiles for some time. Although bushcraft and wilderness survival has become quite a popular subject in this country over recent years, the UK does not have a strong Preparedness/ Survivalist movement at the present time. Something that I believe is partly to do with the Media perception of survivalists as paranoid nutcases. However, through my work as a bushcraft and wilderness skills instructor I have recently noticed a marked increase in the number of “normal” …



Note From JWR:

Please keep spreading the word about SurvivalBlog. Just one line added to your e-mail “.sig” could enlighten lots of potential SurvivalBlog readers. (Pretty please?) Today, I’m leading off with two pieces of shameless web aggregation. (I pride myself on presenting mostly original content for this blog, but at times there are items that I find on the web that are worth mentioning…)


U.S. Government Issues Guide to Pandemic Preparedness

As reported at NewsMax.com, the Bush Administration had just issued a Guide to Pandemic Preparedness. See:  http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/5/215956.shtml It is interesting that they mentioned both self-quarantine and home schooling. What radicals!  They musta been reading SurvivalBlog or sumthen’… OBTW, why do I get the feeling that if John Kerry had been elected that the message on this topic wouldn’t be quite the same?


Moves by China and Iran May Trigger a Dollar Crisis

Two recent developments overseas may not bode well for the dollar. This first is that Iran has announced that in March (of ’06) it will open a new international oil bourse that will have all transactions denominated in Euros. (See: http://www.energybulletin.net/7707.html  )  The second is that China has announced that it intends to shift its currency reserves away from the U.S. dollar for “a more balanced portfolio.” (Read: Anything but dollars!)  See: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f39fa8e4-7e25-11da-8ef9-0000779e2340.htm


Letter Re: Islamic Demographics and Long Term Trends

Hello Sir, I found the following article discussing the changing demographics of the western world fascinating. I’m sure you will too. Not to give anything away, but the author points to the declining birth rates of western civilizations and contrasts them with the burgeoning growth of Islam, both in Islamic and western countries. See:  http://www.newcriterion.com/archives/24/01/its-the-demography/ – Bings in Iraq JWR Replies:  Bings found a genuine “must read” article. Some real food fro thought and grounds for further research (FFTAGFFR) there!


Letter Re: Truck, Auto, ATV, Motorcycle, and Bicycle Tire Repair

Hi Jim, At the ranch last Saturday, our cousin who is a mechanic got under the hood and fixed the old ranch truck. He took it for a spin and came back and said that he would have to park it because it got a flat tire. He would have to take the tire to town and get it fixed but wouldn’t be able to do it until Tuesday because of the holiday on Monday. I asked my husband “Why can’t he fix it himself? People didn’t have to take tires to a shop to get them fixed in the …