Preparing To Go To Gunsite – Part 3, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Flashlight I bought this from Gunsite’s pro shop where they have a couple of options. I bought their bottom of the line (but still expensive to me) Fenix PD36R V2.0 Rechargeable Flashlight for about $100. I agonized a bit over this decision, I did not normatively carry a flashlight and I was not planning to begin carrying one. When I started researching I found that Flashlight guys are like Watch guys, they speak their own language and very quickly start spending huge amounts of money for the model that’s “just right” for …


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, we ponder severe solar storms and impending demographic doom. The Unseen Fury of Solar Storms SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson suggested this recent article: The Unseen Fury Of Solar …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — July 2, 2025

After a stab in the back to gun owners by the RINOs of the U.S. Senate, the Budget Reconciliation Bill is now back in the House of Representatives. Please repeatedly contact your U.S. congressmember by phone and e-mail and demand that they vote for Rep. Andrew Clyde’s new (July 1st) House Amendment restoring the full versions of the Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT Act to the bill. We are now within inches of getting this important legislation passed. It will only take about five more House member votes to get this passed!!!  Please phone the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. …


Preparing To Go To Gunsite – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1.) Physical Requirements Can you stand for six hours a day in the sun and weather? Be brutally honest with yourself here. I saw one gentleman who came who could not. I felt so bad for him. To have spent all the money and time and be unable to actually complete the training would be heartbreaking. On the other hand there were absolutely people north of 60 completing the course. You don’t need to be able to run a marathon but you do need to be able to stand in the sun for several hours. Bear in …


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. — Reader Hollyberry wrote us last month: “Not much excitement goes on in rural Maine, which is why we live here. Back in April this year, while reading the local paper, it ran a story on a local soldier that had died in WWII. The young man, US. Army Private Willard D. Merrill, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Napoleon’s troops fought in bright fields, where every helmet caught some gleams of glory; but the British soldier conquered under the cool shade of aristocracy. No honours awaited his daring, no despatch gave his name to the applauses of his countrymen; his life of danger and hardship was uncheered by hope, his death unnoticed.” – General William Francis Patrick Napier (1785-1860), in Peninsular War (1810). Vol. ii. Book xi. Chap. iii.


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 1, 2025

On July 1, 1836, US President Andrew Jackson announced to Congress a bequest by James Smithson of 100,000 gold sovereigns to found the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. — On July 1st, 1997, the crown colony of Hong Kong officially reverted to Chinese sovereignty, ending 156 years of British rule. There have been sporadic protests by locals, ever since then. — July 1st, 1535, Sir Thomas More went on trial for treason for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. — And on July 1st, 1863 is the anniversary of the beginning of the Civil …


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 another bison death at Yellowstone. (See the Montana section.) Idaho Suspected gunman found dead after fatal shooting of Idaho firefighters. o  o  o “Truth and Reconciliation” Conference being held to voice concerns on Victor Perez shooting. o  o  o Firefighters battle blazes near …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — June 30, 2025

An Important Note: Please repeatedly contact your state’s two U.S. Senators by phone and e-mail and demand that they overrule the unelected Senate Parliamentarian’s recent bogus ruling that the Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT Act did not qualify as “tax measures” under the Byrd Rule. Clearly, the National Firearms Act of 1934 IS INDEED part of the Federal tax code, and any modification to NFA-’34 is indeed “tax-related.”  Tell your Senators:  Vote NO on the entire bill, unless the Hearing Protection Act and the SHORT Act are fully restored! If they can overrule the Senate Parliamentarian on Senator Dan …


DIY Wood-Lined-Steel-Drum Corn Storage, by Thomas Christianson

“Some deer came to the squirrel feeder today,” Kari announced at supper one evening. Kari and I both love deer. Kari loves deer because she thinks that they are pretty. I love deer because I think that they are tasty. As a result, our priorities don’t always coincide. But we do both agree that we like having deer around on the property. It isn’t that I have ever actually shot deer on our property. I just want them nearby in case I get hungry. The squirrel feeder had not always been a squirrel feeder. It was originally a platform that …


Recipe of the Week:

The following recipe for Traci’s Marinara Sauce is from SurvivalBlog reader Callie B. Ingredients 2 large cans whole tomatoes, chopped (Or fresh tomatoes of equivalent volume, plus a bit of water) 1/4 c. tomato paste 1/2 c. olive oil 1 Tbsp. minced onion 1 or 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, thinly sliced Garlic, to taste 2 tsp. minced parsley 1/2 tsp. crushed dried oregano Directions Place all of the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring the pan to a boil. Reduce heat, and cover with a lid. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced and thickened to a …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  The number of propane fueling stations, by State. (U.S. Dept. of Energy Map. See the original site, for specific locations, or use the Alternative Fueling Station Locator.) “Thousands of fueling stations across the country provide propane, also known as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).” The thumbnail below is click-expandable.       — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations,—entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwarks against anti-republican tendencies; the preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigour, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; . . . . freedom of religion; freedom of the press; freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries …