The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the “free” mystery seeds arriving from mainland China. Mystery Packages From China: Seeds and Sunglasses Arkansas man plants mystery seeds from China, says results are wild — and now other …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 12, 2020

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This the birthday of country singer/songwriter Buck Owens (1929–2006). His songs typified what has been called “The Bakersfield Sound.” — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a …


JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books, and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how-to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This week the focus is on McLeod and Pulaski tools for trail building and wildland firefighting. (See the Gear & Grub section …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 11, 2020

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On August 11, 1857, N. H. Wolfe and Company, the oldest flour and grain company in New York City, failed. This failure shook investor confidence and began a slow selloff in the market which continued into late August. Several other failures followed, and this cascaded into what was later called the Panic of 1857. — On this day in 1807, David Atchison was born. He was president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, and president of U.S. for one day (March 4, 1849), the Sunday before Zachary Taylor was sworn in. So, technically Donald J. Trump is the 46th U.S. …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt that ended successfully in Wyoming. (See the Wyoming section.) Region-Wide Do you notice the “hole” in this COVID-19 map?  It looks a lot like the boundaries of the American Redoubt, to me. Here in the Redoubt, I …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 10, 2020

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On August 10th, 1984, Red Dawn, the first PG-13 rated movie, starring Patrick Swayze was released. The movie (the 1984 original, not the 2012 remake) is a favorite of both JWR and HJL. The movie embodies the independent, indomitable spirit that created this country. — Two newly-listed properties, over at SurvivalRealty.com: 70 acres outside Kamiah (inside the reservation), with “almost Artesian” well, for $200,000. and, Off-grid cabin on 5 acres, north of Cedar City Utah for $250,000 Jonathan Rawles (My #1 Son), who owns SurvivalRealty.com mentioned: “We’re continuing to see extremely low property inventory in many rural regions, and a surprising number of properties …


FNS-9 Compact, by Pat Cascio

If you’re old enough to remember back 50-years or longer, you’ll recall that guns we called “compact” back then, were quite a bit different than what we call “compact” today. Back in the day, a compact handgun was still quite large, compared to those made today. Sure there were some compact guns back then, but most were revolvers on a small frame that only held 5 or 6 rounds. Maybe back then, 5 or 6 rounds was more than enough to end a gunfight. Today, things have changed – a lot! We live in a very violent world, and odds …


Recipe of the Week: Eggs A La Caracas

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The following recipe for Eggs A La Caracas is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924. A professional scan of that 724-page out-of-copyright book will be one of the bonus items in the next edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. This 15th Anniversary Edition USB stick should be available for sale in the third week of January, 2021. Ingredients 1  tablespoon butter 1 cup tomatoes 1 Tablespoon grated cheese Onion-juice Salt and Peppe, to taste 1/4 pound dried beef 4 eggs …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at Expatriation. (See the Off-Shore section.) Precious Metals: Gold Forecast: Could Prices Continue to Soar Higher Over the Next Decade? o  o  o Alasdair Macleod: Gold At $2000+. So Why The Fuss? Here is a snippet: “In the investment industry it is monetary debasement that gives you your living. For the rise …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 9, 2020

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August 9th, 1831 was the birthday of James Paris Lee (August 9, 1831 – February 24, 1904). He was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 90 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of …


Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI – Part 6, by J.M.

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(Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article series.) Pilot of the Airwaves Another area where mobile electronics can provide some useful tactical functionality is communications, even if cellular networks and the Internet aren’t available. There are a lot of good articles here on SurvivalBlog.com about radios, so I’m going to focus on other areas. One very useful option for communications is a goTenna Mesh paired with each mobile device on your team. They’re around $180 a pair, but goTenna frequently has them on sale for 20% or more off. It’s a small device that you clip to the outside …