Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 1, 2019

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Today is the 100th birthday of Canadian test pilot Russell Bannock. (Pictured, on the left.) These details on Bannock are courtesy of the Infogalactic wiki: After entering the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Bannock received his pilot’s wings in 1940 and was appointed as an instructor at Trenton, Ontario. Later he was posted to Royal Air Force Ferry Command from June to August 1942. In September 1942, Bannock became chief instructor with the Flying Instructor School at Arnprior in Ontario. Bannock’s request for overseas service was granted in 1944 and he joined 60 OTU based in RAF High Ercall, England. …


A Lament for California

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With all of the recent news about squalid homeless encampments, mismanaged utilities, gun-grabbing Democrat politicians, a potentially bankrupt public employee pension fund, and wildfires in California, I thought that it would be apropos to post a personal lament. This is a largely autobiographical commentary on the sad fall of the state of my birth, since the 1960s. But first, let me look back a bit further in time: Our Pioneer Roots The Rawles family came to California in 1856, via covered wagon. My great-great grandfather, Joseph Rawles, was a fifth generation American of English extraction who was born in Ohio. …


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 investing in Federally antique Finn M39 Mosin Nagant rifles. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: It is noteworthy that the ratio of silver to gold spot prices peaked at around 92.5-to-1 in mid-July, 2019, and is now down to around 82.5-to-1.  But I believe that this slide will …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — October 31, 2019

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As Christians, our family does not celebrate the pagan Halloween. Since October 31st is also Reformation Day, that is what we celebrate, here at the Rawles Ranch. This year we’ll be having a small Reformation Day feast dinner featuring squash from our garden, something plump from our poultry house, and apple cider that we pressed. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar …


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 dramatic drop in winter wheat acres planted. Connecticut State Police Now Has Firearms Sniffing Dogs Connecticut State Police roll out firearms sniffing dogs. (Thanks to reader G.P. for the …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — October 30, 2019

October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) He died on July 4, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. — My #1 Son, who owns and operates the popular SurvivalRealty.com spin-off web site wrote to mention this unusual 148-acre property, near Elk City, Idaho: Isolated Mountain Retreat. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark …


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 the new Ghost Gunner 3. (See the Gear & Grub section.) Books: Reader Steve R. …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — October 29, 2019

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October 29th is the birthday of fighter pilot Vermont Garrison, an American who fought in three wars– WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died on February 14th, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. …


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 Wexit Alberta campaign.   (See the Region-Wide section.) Region-Wide SurvivalBlog reader TZ sent this news about our neighbors to the north: Wexit: Will Alberta Ditch Canada? Here is a pointed quote: “The term ‘western alienation’ has entered the national lexicon, becoming just …


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 Blackout: Two Million Californians will intermittently be in the dark. Blackout: Two Million Californians in the Dark Linked over at the great Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Millions face power cuts …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — October 28, 2019

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I was recently passing through Bonners Ferry, Idaho and stopped by to visit the Redoubt Surplus & Tactical store.  While chatting with store owner Warren Campbell, I learned that he recently obtained a small quantity of scarce U.S. Army surplus woodland pattern Goretex over-pants. He sells them brand new at $34.95 per pair.  I was impressed with their quality, so I went ahead and bought a pair. I like the fact that they have 2/3-length zippers, so that they can be put on or taken off without removing your boots. I spent quite a while looking through the shelves of …


Recipe of the Week: Amy’s Baked Chicken and Rice

Reader “Amy in Militigan”  kindly sent us her recipe for Baked Chicken and Rice. You may substitute the same volume of turkey, in place of the chicken. This recipe makes seven servings. Ingredients 2 C regular white rice (not the instant type) 1-3/4 C milk 1/2 cube of butter, melted (optional) 2 cans of cream of chicken soup 2 Cups of boiled-down chicken soup broth (or, substitute 2 C hot water and 3 or 4 dissolved bullion cubes) 4 or 5 raw chicken (or turkey) breasts, cut chunked to large bite-size 1 C grated Parmesan cheese 1 C mushrooms, sliced …