The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 9, 2025

On August 9, 1666, Rear Admiral Robert Holmes led a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships in the Vlie estuary, and pillaged the town of West-Terschelling. This raid was later known as “Holmes’s Bonfire”. The event is shown in the painting ‘Holmes’s Bonfire’ by Willem van de Velde the Elder. — 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 …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it. And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 8, 2025

On August 8, 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard became the first men to climb to the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe. — On August 8, 1911, Public Law 62-5 set the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law came into effect in 1913. — August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (August 8th, 1930 – March 9th, 1997), who was a Welsh television writer and novelist. Nation wrote two television series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made in 2008 and 2010. — SurvivalBlog …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the volatile global silver market. (See the Precious Metals section.) Precious Metals: In modern times, silver has been known for more volatile price swings than gold. This week was no exception. From Friday, August 1st to Thursday, August 7, spot silver climbed from $36.63 to $38.53 per Troy ounce. In my estimation, as …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 7, 2025

August 7, 1588: English sailors set alight eight fireships, with pitch, brimstone, gunpowder, and tar, and cast them downwind towards the closely anchored vessels of the Spanish Armada, scattering the armada. Pictured: English and Spanish fleets clash in the 1558 Battle of Gravelines in a painting by Philip James de Loutherbourg. — August 7th, 1933 was the birthday of the late Jerry Pournelle. He, along with Larry Niven, authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. — As part of the 20th Anniversary celebration for SurvivalBlog, we’ve launched our biggest sale ever on all of our percussion gun inventory at Elk Creek …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, more news of nuclear war brinksmanship. Russia’s Terrifying ‘Dead Hand’ Threat Over at The UK Daily Mail: Russia’s terrifying ‘DEAD HAND’ threat as spiraling nuclear rhetoric leaves world …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 6, 2025

We are now celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the founding of SurvivalBlog. My first blog post was on August 5, 2005. That was just three weeks before the first report that Hurricane Katrina had formed. There are now 40,836 archived SurvivalBlog posts. That includes 7,296 quotes, with Bible verses on every Saturday and Sunday. All of the blog archives will remain freely available. Thanks for spreading the word and making the blog such a great success. Our special thanks to the 2% of readers who voluntarily subscribe. I hope that more folks will recognize the usefulness of SurvivalBlog as a …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — I found this great documentary linked over at my buddy Commander Zero’s Notes From The Bunker blog: Exploring the Paranoid Country with 374,142 Bunkers to Hide Everyone (how is this possible?)  Pictured above is a fortified Swiss artillery emplacement, camouflaged to look like a house. o  o  o Reader C.B. sent this …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I simply cannot stand by and watch a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States come under attack from those who either can’t understand it, don’t like the sound of it, or find themselves too philosophically squeamish to see why it remains the first among equals: Because it is the right we turn to when all else fails. That’s why the Second Amendment is America’s first freedom.” – Charlton Heston


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 5, 2025

August 5, 1716: Battle of Petrovaradin [aka Peterwardein]: The Habsburgs under Eugene of Savoy defeated the Ottomans in a decisive victory. — On this day in 1763: Battle of Bushy Run, Pontiac’s War. Forces led by Swiss mercenary Henry Bouquet defeated Chief Pontiac’s Indians at Bushy Run. — August 5, 1917: The entire US National Guard is taken into national service, subject to presidential rather than state control. — August 5th is also the sad anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire in Montana that took the lives of 13 firefighters (including 12 smokejumpers and one former smokejumper), in 1949. The …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 119

We’ve announced the winners of Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 119 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to A.F. for Preps Starter Kits for Reluctant Families. See: Part 1 and Part 2. It was posted July 8-9, 2025. He will receive as prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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 located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, news about the manhunt for an Anaconda, Montana quadruple murder suspect. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Throwing Away The Key: Bryan Kohberger transferred to long-term isolation in ‘restrictive housing block’. o  o  o Sun Valley Tour de Force survivors heal and inspire. “What started as a …