Letter Re: Questions on Gardening, Livestock and Dogs in North Idaho

Dear CPT Rawles, My wife and I, along with our three teenage son’, are now eyeball deep in prepping, and have reached that stage where we pretty much have most of everybody’s personal gear needs met, with the exception of a few small items here and there.  We opted to take care of that first, as we are stuck temporarily east of the mississippi, in the southeastern US.  Our intent when we began our prepping journey a couple years ago, was first & foremost to be able to make a hasty exit from this area if the SHTF.  Thus, our …


Economics and Investing:

I heard from the folks at Mulligan Mint that the one ounce American Redoubt silver coins, are still selling well, and they have cleared most of their order backlog. When I last checked they only had about 500 ounces in Redoubt coins left to fulfill, and they expected to mail all of those this week. But anyone placing orders henceforth can still expect delays of up to three weeks, during times of peak demand. (Whenever spot silver dips below $20 per Troy ounce, the floodgates open.) For some perspective: The U.S. Mint reported that it sold a whopping 27.6 Million …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader S.M. mentioned two more all-American field gear makers: 215 Gear Store – Slings, belts, chest rigs, plate carriers, hydration packs, K9 rigs, gloves, and more. Ice Tactical  – Best known for their chest rigs. They also make belts, a wide variety of mag pouches, and a great poncho liner.     o o o By way of Ol’ Remus at The Woodpile Report, I learned of this link: The Ten Oldest Military Vehicles Still In Service. Remus says: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”    o o o Some French Canadians are fed up with globalism, too: Réveille “Nous sommes …




Letter Re: Low-Budget Photovotaically Charged Drill Batteries

Dear Mr Rawles, This letter is in response to the piece on using photovoltaics to charge batteries by C.K.. I feel I should spend some time discussing some potential problems with charging Lithium Ion (“Li-ion”) batteries the way C.K. proposes. However first a few general notes. – I am all for scavenging if you know what you are doing like some of us. But ‘newbies’ are better off not trying to disassemble anything more complicated than a desktop power supply for safety reasons as JWR pointed out. I should add that the process that causes the ‘bounce’ after discharge also …


Letter Re: Pro-Gun or No-Gun America, Which Saves More Lives?

James; I just want to say that I find it amazing how most people, including well-known commentators, go round and round about guns versus crime. This point has been beaten to death, but the gun control crowd wants it to continue. Please folks, realize that the purpose is to disarm the civilian population and has little or nothing to do with public safety. Government safety is what is at stake and as long as the reality can be deflected away from the disarmament purpose, the discussion about public safety is fine! Why does the word stupid come to mind? – …


Economics and Investing:

Jumbo Mumbo Jumbo: Treasury: Debt Has Been Exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 56 Days. (Thanks to Darin Mc.C. for the link.) Fraud Confirmed: 100-Day Delay to Take Bullion Delivery in London Deutsche Bank Opaque Loans From Brazil to Italy Hide Risk It is sad to see The Daily Bell closing down. I’ve been a reader since back before their name was truncated. I’m also someone who observed the SEC’s merciless attack on Anthony Wile’s good name. (Lesser men would have called it quits, but to his credit, he persevered.) The good news is that all of The Daily Bell content will be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

K.T. liked a piece over at Journey To Forever on Hydraulic Ram Pumps.    o o o Peter S. suggested this privacy service: SecuredURL.org    o o o For those interested in registered suppressors, reader C.K. suggested an interesting, lengthy (and photo-intensive) look inside the cans from many popular makers, with lots of discussion about different baffle designs and those dreaded baffle strikes. While these accessories available over the counter sans papiere in many European countries, here in the United States suppressors requires a $200 Federal transfer tax payment before delivery. Constructing your own without first paying the Federal tax …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he , if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind….. The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation;those who dissent from the opinion,still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what …


Notes from JWR:

This is the 34th anniversary of the 1979 death in battle of Hugh John McCall, a New York City native who was a volunteer in the Rhodesian Army. He was a sergeant in the 3 Commando of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI.) — Today we present another entry for Round 47 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 …


Pro-Gun or No-Gun America, Which Saves More Lives?, by Skvez

While discussing the potential for a gun ban in the United States I realized that the pro-gun-ban people genuinely believe that banning guns will save lives. In an attempt to facilitate debate I discovered that getting down to the numbers helps discover where their math is different from the pro-gun position, it is these points we can focus on to help them see the light. I put this sequence of equations on a spreadsheet but you can talk someone through them without one. For each value get the person you are speaking to, to give you their value. I’ve using …


Letter Re: The Quest for Safety: Is Jackson County, Florida America’s Ideal Retreat Locale?

Jim: Regarding your recent comparison of Jackson County, Florida, with Lewis, County, Idaho: I lived in Marianna in 2001 and worked at a bank.  I wouldn’t recommend it at all, as a location to move to, unless you are from the South.  I actually was turned down for [membership in] the local quilt guild because I was from the North, and one business owner told me another time that they just wished we’d come down, drop our money and leave.  It is not a friendly area [to outsiders].  “Paul Revere” needs to recheck his facts. The main employers there are …


Letter Re: Preparedness Course Question

Jim: Is your “Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course” currently available online the same course that was sold in print form in 2006, or is it an updated version? Thanks, – Joe R. JWR Replies: The course content is essentially unchanged from the 2006 edition. Only the price (dramatically less) and the delivery method (download only) have changed.


Letter Re: NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

JWR: I would also recommend the Emergency Response Guidebook published jointly by the USDOT and Canadian and Mexican Transportation agencies. This reference (ERG) lets you identify the material being transported by pipeline, tanker truck, or railcar. As a guide for First Responders to a HazMat accident, it also lists specific hazards and evacuation distances in the event of spill or fire. I use this book to evaluate how at risk I am to accidents involving bulk materials being transported nearby. You need to pay attention to the placard (label) information on the side of the tanker. In my community I …