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”.  Today, we focus on Caching Cash.  (See the last item in this column.) Fire Departments Becoming Scanner Opaque Here is some important news from H.L., for those of us who own public service band  scanners: Fire Departments Are “Going Dark” and Becoming Secret Public Safety Organizations.  The article starts out with this: “Across the country fire departments in Connecticut, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois have begun encrypting their radio transmissions, effectively turning them into secret …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 11, 2019

March 11th is the birthday of the late actor Anton Yelchin.  He was born in 1989 and died June 19, 2016. He is remembered for his portrayal of Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation, and as Ensign Pavel Checkov, the most recent Star Trek movie series. His untimely death came in a freak accident wherein his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee unexpectedly rolled forward on an incline, pinning him to a security fence. Today is also the birthday of author Douglas Adams (born 1952). He is the author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Also on this day, the Great Blizzard of …


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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today’s focus is on discontinued SIG pistols. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: This is a good piece to start off today’s column: Trade the Gold to Silver Ratio. o o o Fund Manager: Gold Is Historically Cheap When Compared To The Stock Market   Economy & …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday – March 10, 2019

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On March 10, 1910, China officially ended slavery. But unofficially, China now has one of the world’s largest slave populations. These are mostly political prisoners, working in prison factories. Sadly, there is no way of reliably knowing whether or not most of the “Made In China” merchandise that you buy might originate from Chinese prison factories. — Today, we’ve selected a guest post from Ammo.com. It is posted with their permission.


Gun Background Checks Explained

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Editor’s Note: This article was first posted at Ammo.com, and is re-posted with permission. How the State Came To Decide Who Can and Cannot Buy a Firearm Prior to 1968, most adults in the United States could purchase a firearm without state interference. Guns were available in local retail stores, as well as mail-order catalogs, and as long as you hadn’t been convicted of a felony and you had the funds, there weren’t any questions asked. Things are different now. Depending on where in America you are and what type of gun you want to buy, there’s a good chance …


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”.  Today, we focus on Constitutional Carry (aka: Permitless Concealed Carry.) Kentucky Becomes 16th Constitutional Carry State We’ll start out with some quite good news:  Matt Bevin to Sign Bill Making Kentucky 16th Permitless Carry State.  JWR’s Comment:  The polarization of gun laws is becoming more pronounced.  Freedom-loving interior states are restoring firearms freedom. Constitutional Carry is a rising tide. But meanwhile the mostly coastal leftist Nanny states are restricting freedom with a panoply …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday – March 9, 2019

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March 9th is the birthday of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin – the first man to ever travel in space. He was born in 1934 and died in the crash of a MiG-15-UTI fighter on March 27, 1968. Today is also the birthday of writer John McPhee (b. 1931), a master of creative nonfiction. One of McPhee’s most widely read books is Coming into the Country, which eloquently describes the Alaskan wilderness. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: …


Time and Planning, Pt. 2, by 3ADscout

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(Continued from Part 1.) Learning from history about older technology and ways people lived is great knowledge but having the knowledge without the “tools” still leaves a gap in your preparedness. Finding the tools and devices of bygone eras will also take time. Scouring antique shops, flea markets, garage sales, estate sales and attending auctions takes time but again the time spent can be productive use of your time in several different ways. It can be quality time spent with the family. It can also be used to teach our children about the past and what “things” were used for. …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities. They also often share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! …


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”.  Today, we focus on the announced retrial of Tommy Robinson. Photobucket Web Site Compromised by Malware SuvrvivalBlog’s Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson, sent this warning: “Photobucket has been having ongoing issues with service and security. Quite a few of the “featured” photos link to dangerous malware that can damage your files. Today, I got hit with an annual charge, only three months after my previous annual charge. Clicking the FAQ button immediately started …


Preparedness Notes for Friday – March 8, 2019

March 8th is the birthday of famed revolver shooter, big game hunter, and gun writer Elmer Keith, who co-designed the S&W .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges. He authored the book Sixguns, which is still considered a standard reference. His fascinating life story is told in his last book, Hell, I was there!  A Proto-Redoubter, Keith spent the second half of his life on a ranch near Salmon, Idaho. (Keith was born in 1899 and died February 12, 1984.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 81 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 …


Time and Planning, Pt. 1, by 3ADscout

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Have you ever considered the influences that time has on your preparedness efforts or will have upon your survival post-TEOTWAWKI? When we take an in-depth look at time, we will realize that time is one of our greatest preparedness resources. This article will discuss ways to use our time wisely now so that we can save even more time in a post-TEOTWAWKI world. We all have a finite supply of time, just 24 hours a day, no more. We can’t buy more time regardless of our income. We all only have seven days a week. There are however, a few …


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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today’s focus is on Recycling. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: Gold Price Goes ‘Thunk’…And ‘Tis A Good Healthy Thing o o o From H.L.: The Arms Race Between Gold Counterfeiters and Bullion Testers Is Heating Up. JWR’s Comment:  This is yet another reason that I prefer buying …