Jim’s Quote of the Day

"The slowness of one section of the world about adopting the valuable ideas of another section of it is a curious thing and unaccountable. This form of stupidity is confined to no community, to no nation; it is universal. The fact is the human race is not only slow about borrowing valuable ideas — it sometimes persists in not borrowing them at all. Take the German [Masonry] stove, for instance — to the uninstructed stranger it promises nothing; but he will soon find that it is a masterly performer. The process of firing is quick and simple. At half past …


The Best All-Around Dog Breed for a Retreat?

I’m curious to know what breeds of dogs are recommended by SurvivalBlog readers. I’d like to hear your opinion on the ideal the “All-Around Retreat Dog” breed–one that is a good watch dog with a strong sense of territory, loyalty to its masters, distrustful and vociferous when intruders approach, large enough to be taken seriously by intruders, protective when confronted by bears or mountain lions, and alert to poisonous snakes. Ideally, it would also be versatile enough for other responsibilities such as guarding livestock and perhaps killing mice and rats. Secondarily, it would be advantageous to have the same dog …


The Memsahib on The Proposed PAWS Legislation

The hunting and security dog breeding world is about to be stood on it head: Many of the same congressmen that have been after your guns are now after your dogs. Proposed legislation called called The Protection of Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS) designated S. 1139 / H.R.2669 would make hunting dog breeders and sellers subject to Federal (USDA) licensing. Under the legislation’s incredibly loose wording, the term ”dealer” means any person who buys or sells any dog for hunting, security, or breeding purposes If this bill passes, breeders who sells even just one dog of a “hunting breed” will be …


The Memsahib’s Quote of the Day

"Likely terrorist EMP targets are key financial centers such as Wall Street, The City district in London, or the Paradeplatz in Zurich. This would cause incalculable damage to computer hardware and software associated with stock and commodities markets, banking, international currency  exchanges, and pension funds." – James Wesley, Rawles, from a feature article on High Technology Terrorism,  Defense Electronics magazine, January, 1990.


Rourke on: A Mouse in the House? Retreat Pest Control

If you are stockpiling food and supplies, you should have a system of pest control in place. Mice are probably your first and most serious concern, but rats, other vermin, and of course insects also come into play depending on what types of food you are storing, in what containers, and where you are. If most your food is in #10 steel cans, you may only have to worry about other supplies, like toilet paper, which can make a nice nesting ground for them, and incredible mess for you. As when with dealing any foe, you need to understand the …


Letter Re: Military Installations as a Factor in Retreat Location Selection

Hey, I just wanted to write in to comment on what seems to me like a missing element in your survival location analysis. Military installations across the United States are presumably not all evenly distributed, and the presence of these bases not only affects your location in the event of a NBC scenario, but if the Schumer] really hits the fan, even well disciplined American servicemen and women will attempt to ensure their own survival even at the cost of local civilians. Now I assume that it would take a world ending event for our military to act in that …


Letter Re: HK91 Magazines Inferior for Barter

Jim: Military surplus HK91 alloy magazines have been available for several years in the $1-to-$3 price range. It seems to me that the only people who should buy them are HK rifle owners who own less than 50 magazines. Before buying HK magazines as barter items, consider that the market has already been flooded with far more than are needed for the limited number of existing rifles. The German military torched most of their rifles, but sold most of the magazines. Other mags (such as for AR-15) may be great future demand, but I would not bet on the HK. …



Note from JWR

A reminder that we are still accepting entries 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.


Odds ‘n Sods

I just noticed that our compadre “Warlord” over at the Alpha-Rubicon site posted a very handy article last year about how to construct a “fan in a can” for a home fallout shelter. See: http://www.alpharubicon.com/basicnbc/safefanwar.htm   o  o  o Noah Schactman at the Defense Tech blog mentioned an interesting briefing that is available in PDF about some recent non-lethal weapon developments: http://www.smallwars.quantico.usmc.mil/programs/NLW/JNLWPRefBook_feb2004.pdf  Ya gotta love those caltrops!   o  o  o The folks at the AUSurvivalist site (in Australia) have some interesting documents available for free download. See: http://www.aussurvivalist.com/downloads.htm



Note from JWR

I wish the readers of SurvivalBlog a Joyful Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. I also wish a Festive Hanukkah to our Jewish readers.  Thank you for your great letters and contributed articles, and your loyal patronage of our advertisers. Special thanks to the 28 readers that have made 10 Cent Challenge blog support contributions in recent weeks. I especially appreciate this because I know that funds are tight for many people this time of year. Have a safe, happy, and healthy Aught Six. 


Letter Re: Okay, You Have Moved to Your New Survival Retreat Home. What’s Next?

Jim: Many people are strategically relocating, getting settled into their new homes, preparing for the economic crash, and war that is surely coming. As the gent from Argentina said with hindsight: "more food" and trade goods. In addition to obtaining the obvious water, food, seeds, preparing the ground for a large garden, and protection there are some additional things all of us need to consider. Remember you are simply investing in your future. Here is my list: * Get to know the old timers, people who are active but advanced in years. Go visit them. Have them to your home. …


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

G’day from Down Under. In you post on the TEOTWAWKI rifles, you mentioned .303s. While the rifles are plentiful, robust and inexpensive, the ammo is becoming very hard to find and expensive. Example, Winchester 303 SP is $ 48 AUD per box of 20 here. Good ex-military ball is about $80 to $100 per 100 (if you can find it) and will be at least 30 years old. The Ishapore Mk.2s are a much better bet, cost about the same, and take 7.62 [mm NATO]. Or perhaps, one of the ex-Israeli [K98] Mausers [chambered] in .308? However, I personally feel …


Letter Re: The Ubiquity of the M1911 in the U.S.

Dear Mr. Rawles, With respect to the great sidearm debate, I suspect that a much underrated feature of the M1911 family lies in the ubiquity of the family. As a disclaimer, I should note that I am an unabashed, though not uncritical, fan of the 1911 design. I am much inclined to believe that the Schumer and the fan will become commingled in my lifetime. Assuming that they do, the ballistic superiority of a round may become less relevant than the availability of spare parts, ammunition, and expertise for keeping the gun functioning. When you start to think of these …