Economics and Investing:

Ammo shortage continues across U.S. At Barron’s: This Time, Gold Bugs May Have a Point “Scrutinize those Tea Party types? I’ll get right on it, sir!”. (And now she is pleading the Fifth Amendment.) Fierce Finance reports: Delays at all levels in mortgage settlements More mindless blathering over at Rachel Maddow’s site: Deficit reduction picks up speed. Gosh, could part of this “great success” be due to the fact that they’ve more than doubled the money supply by creating money out of thin air with Quantitative Easing in the past three years? To extend this logic, if they just magically …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I heard that two Kindle e-books will be available free at Amazon.com from May 23rd to 25th, only: The Ultimate Dandelion Cookbook and A Vegetable For Every Season Cookbook. Both of these e-books are normally priced at $2.99.    o o o H.L. sent: Red Tape Delayed Oklahoma Town’s Tornado Shelter Program. H.L.’s comment: ‘When will Americans learn they need to make their own preparations for disasters if at all possible, and stop depending on the government for everything? What happened to our pioneer spirit? We’ve become lazy, which is dangerous.”    o o o A reader sent a link …



Notes from JWR:

Please keep the tornado victims in Oklahoma in your prayers. Prayers do get answered. — Today we present another entry for Round 46 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 …


Leader, Supervisor, Mentor, by D. Hacker

Make no mistake, someone will fill the roles of Leader, Supervisor, and Mentor.  As we all know, power abhors a vacuum.  Leaders are considered to be in positions of power, in spite of the fact that many great leaders had little power and many powerful people were terrible leaders.  This article will refer to these roles as they pertain to survival situations. While the Leader, Supervisor, and Mentor might be the same person, often each of these roles fall on different individuals.  A leader is someone who can organize a group of people to achieve a common goal.  It’s someone …


Letter Re: Checking Your Handguns for Feeding Problems: Round Nose Versus Hollow Points

Jim,. In response to the nifty article written by Z.T.  I believe I have something to add:   Bill Wilson used to sell a great pamphlet on the care and feeding of 1911s. He specifically addressed hollowpoint reloading vs ball reloading.  In it the physical path and critical feed angles were discussed, as well as what a reloader should do if reloading semi-wadcutter or hollowpoint ammo.  I’d get into it, but I’m pretty certain it’s copyrighted – I don’t think they sell the pamphlet anymore but it’s still his intellectual property.  In a nutshell, if you’re going to reload hollowpoint …


Economics and Investing:

Jeff H. sent this fascinating map: Map divides U.S. based on flow of cash transactions F.G. sent: California Approves $92 Million Ammo Tax To Combat Gun Violence. “This is in addition to Dickinson’s AB 760, which would impose a five cent tax on every round of ammunition sold in California.” Also from F.G., some “voting with their feet” news: Beretta Leaving Maryland After Gov. Mandates Strict Gun Control Laws Cameron flagged this item: Thousands of French Households Taxed 100% Items from The Economatrix: City of Detroit Ii “Financially Insolvent” Detroit’s Broke; Could Bankruptcy Lie Ahead? Stamp Prices Could Rise Again


Odds ‘n Sods:

Fascinating: Aerial Data Visualisation Reveals Life In The United States. (Thanks to G.C. for the link.)    o o o Reader H.L. sent some news of self-delusion that is not surprising: Most Americans Feel “I’m Immune From Disaster”    o o o Missouri’s Approved Gun Bills: Concealed-Carry Permits Easier to Get, Record-Keeping Banned. (Thanks to Clark H. for the link.)    o o o Mountainview Off Grid Living (in Nampa, Idaho) is offering SurvivalBlog readers a special until the end of May, 2013: Buy a Kimberly (multifuel) Wood Stove and get a free Propur “Big Size” Water Purification System. (A …



Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of weapons designer John Douglas Pedersen. (Born 1881, died 1951.) — Today we present another entry for Round 46 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 …


Minimum Equipment For Standard Bug-Out-Bag by Talon

Many of the articles that I have read on various web sites are, in my not so humble opinion, not adequately addressing the equipment necessary for a Bug-Out-Bag (BOB).  Having had many years of experience in the survival arena, winter and summer, in the Arctic, mountains, tropic and desert regions, many times in hostile theaters, I have drawn up a list for a BOB, along with some accompanying information. There are variations for some of these items and the list of potential equipment and gear is nearly infinite.  However in my considerable experience, what I have listed below has proven to work. …


A Reminder: JWR Shuns Social Networking

Please refrain from trying to get me to join Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or any of the other social network sites. I get more than 175 e-mails per day, and that is bad enough, but getting an extra 20 proclaiming that “John Smith is following you on Twitter” and “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn” is distracting. I consider these networks a security risk, so I simply don’t respond. Knowing that even “deleted ” Facebook posts, profiles, and photos are stored indefinitely, and most recently learning that the IRS is actively mining Facebook posts to find …


Letter Re: Some Observations on the Price of Beans

Mr. Rawles: In every decent sized town I’ve lived in there has been at least one “discount” grocery store. The stores that sell almost-expired food, dented cans or torn bags, local farmer over-production, that sort of thing. (And FWIW, only one can in a flat has to be dented for “the powers that be” to deem the entire batch unfit.) My most recent good buy has been repeated three years in a row here. It’s May, and the local store is selling one-pound bags of black-eyed peas at the discount price of 3 for $1. New Year’s Day was 5.7 …


Letter Re: Late Corn Planting in the American Midwest Does Not Bode Well

Mr. Rawles, Greetings from the occupied territory of Coloradostan.  I am a long time reader and first time responder to the blog. I am an agricultural economist and read Woody’s perspective with interest, as I am sure many did. I just examined USDA’s crop progress report from this afternoon. Much progress was made in the 18 primary corn producing states. We are now 71 percent planted versus the previous five year average(which is skewed by last years data) of 79 percent. Woody’s home state of Ohio, about which he’s was particularly alarmed is now 74 percent planted vs. 58 percent …


News From The American Redoubt:

America’s lands sharks: Wolves kill 31 sheep on south-central Idaho ranch.    o o o Folks in north Idaho or Eastern Washington with an interest in learning how to do metal casting or looking for casting supplies should visit Lost and Foundry, in Spokane, Washington. Foundry molds (“flasks”) and petrobond casting sand are heavy to ship, so look for sources like Lost and Foundry, where you can pick then up yourself. (A similar company is Budget Casting Supply, in Sonora, California.)    o o o Some nice vintage fallout shelter models found in Montana. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.) …