Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 …


Bugging Out of the City with Your Family, by O. Dog

The never-ending threat of the TEOTWAWKI looms in the depth of all of our minds.  My work experience lays primarily in public safety, government peroration to emergency response, tactical team assaults, gang mentality and survival, logistics and law enforcement radio communication.  My personal experience is very broad beginning with my first job at age 15, working continuously through college, being married for the past 16 years to my “high school sweetheart” and raising three young children.  I have been validated in court as an expert in several fields regarding gangs, firearms and narcotics.  I would like to share with you …


Four Letters Re: Natural Gas Powered Generators in a Disaster–Their Compressors, and Yours

Captain Rawles, I saw the disagreement from the former natural gas industry gent located in Texas about your grid assertions as they relate to potential natural gas outages. Two years ago in Northern New Mexico there was a multi-day natural gas outage to 30,000 homes and it was due to precautionary measures from Texas, caused by rolling blackouts.  New Mexico made the decision to keep the population centers pressurized since it would be more difficult to get the pressure back up in those areas compared to the smaller yet more remote pipelines in the northern part of the state.  I …


Economics and Investing:

Financial Betrayal – Collapse Assured H.L. sent: Wild Hogs Roam Streets, Scare People Near Atlanta Anthony M. forwarded this link: The Fed’s ‘hidden agenda’ behind money-printing. Here is the crux of it: “The CBO estimates that by 2020 total debt held by the public will be $16.6 trillion as a result of the rising accumulated debt. Do the math: If we were to pay an average interest rate on our debt of 5.7 percent, rather than the 2.4 percent we pay today, in 2020 our debt service cost will be about $930 billion. Now compare that to the amount the Internal …


Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. sent this: Modoc County joins Siskiyou in state of Jefferson bid for secession    o o o Jeff Soyer of the Alphecca blog has posted a positive review of my soon to be released novel, Expatriates. And BTW, I just noticed that GoodReads and ChristianBook.com have both opened up their Expatriates pages for reviews. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone who has already read an advance copy would post their review at those sites. (Meanwhile, reviews are still temporarily blocked on the Amazon.com and BN.com sites until the October 1st release date.)    o o o Hollywood’s New …



Notes from JWR:

The Age of Deception and Betrayal continues: Kerry signs UN arms treaty, senators threaten to block it. For the BHO regime to have proceeded with this–even though there was clearly no majority support in the Senate–was despicable. Meanwhile, there was a cloture vote cut off Senator Ted Cruz’s filibuster of the Obamacare Continuing Resolution. This is beyond sad. — September 26th is the birthday of the late Jack LaLanne. (Born 1914, died January 23, 2011.) His feats of strength were amazing. And he was just 5’6″ tall. — Today we present another entry for Round 48 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction …


Getting Out After a Trigger Event, by Paul H.

Despite years of reading valid arguments for moving to the American Redoubt or other remote area, of the hundreds of preppers I’ve met I can count on one hand those who made the move and most of those were retired.  I meet relatively few preppers living at a secluded retreat, a few with secondary retreats, many planning to bug out to property they do not own (hopefully by agreement), and the majority still living in and around cities with no alternative plan to shelter in place.  Only one of those four types I just described is unlikely to be on …


Letter Re: Airsoft: Effective Firearm and Tactical Training for Adults and Children

James, Just wanted to amplify the recent contribution on Airsoft which focused mainly on Airsoft battle rifle emulations. Our concealed carry instructor had mention Airsoft handguns as CQB/indoor training and drill options. In particular he thought well of the “GreenGas” Blowback emulations of semi-auto handguns. I filed this under someday and didn’t begin to investigate Airsoft handguns until the recent spike in ammo prices.  The propellant, Green Gas, is propane with a bit of silicon oil added for a lubricant. Adapters are available so you may use larger (lantern and torch size) propane tanks which are more economical.You can purchase …


Economics and Investing:

Reader H.L. suggested this over at Zero Hedge: It Begins: Monte Paschi “Bails In” Bondholders, Halts $650 Million In Coupon Payments James Rickards: “When The International Monetary System Collapses—It’s Going To Be About How Much Gold You Have” Items from The Economatrix: Walmart Holiday Hiring To Outpace US Retail Industry “Dr. Doom” Roubini Makes Case FOR The U.S. Economy Why I’m Not Buying The Market’s Blind Optimism


Odds ‘n Sods:

German chancellor’s drone “attack” shows the threat of weaponized UAVs. JWR’s Comment: FWIW, I’ve had UAVIED in the SurvivalBlog Glossary since 2006.    o o o The Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course (now priced at just $19.97), has been selling briskly. It is now available only via digital download, but once you have that, you are welcome to print out a hard copy for your reference binder.    o o o The Realities of Applied Combat Marksmanship (Or, Why Basic Marksmanship Training is Just Not Enough)    o o o G.G. suggested: California’s great gun grab: State’s sweeping gun control …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We are deceived when we consent to think about the ‘price of gold.’ At the very outset of our thoughts regarding gold, we are wrong, just as astronomers prior to Copernicus were wrong in thinking about the solar system as geo-centric, with the Sun, Moon and planets describing perfect circles around Earth. Gold is ? to follow the astronomical simile ? the center of the monetary universe, and the planets ? the currencies ? circle the Sun, which represents gold. The correct starting point is the price of a currency expressed in terms of gold, and not the other way around. When the price of the …



Basic Mechanics Skills and Knowing Vehicular Limitations Part 1, by “Zachary Taylor”

Basic mechanical knowledge and skills are something that any person who hopes to be successful in TEOTWAWKI must have. I am not speaking just about vehicles, but vehicles are an excellent avenue to learn them. I can only talk with authority on my own past, but I know that the wealth of much of my knowledge comes from my extensive background in working on cars. I won’t claim that any of this post is going to be something that you have never read before. Heck, I am willing to bet that you heard much of this speech by a parent …