Odds ‘n Sods:

‘Black swan’ predictions for 2013 include solar storm    o o o Gun Grabbers Call For Re-Education Programs In Public Schools    o o o A reminder that Italian Gun Grease (all American-made products, but their chemist is Italian–so they thought it would be a catchy name), has some very good products for long term storage of pistols, rifles, and those now precious spare magazines. They are offering a special 25% discount for SurvivalBlog readers. Enter the coupon code RAWLES25 when you check out. Full disclosure: They offered me a 10% “piece of the action” for mentioning their products, but …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The cops are the experts on the current criminal trends. If they have determined that a “high capacity” semiautomatic pistol and a .223 semiautomatic rifle with 30-round magazines are the best firearms for them to use to protect people like me and my family, they are obviously the best things for us to use to protect ourselves and our families.” – Massad Ayoob, writing in Backwoods Home magazine


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any …


Annual Reminder: Ten Cent Challenge Subscriptions

I only post one reminder each year about beginning or renewing your Ten Cent Challenge subscription to SurvivalBlog, and this is it. These subscriptions cover our domain registration, web hosting, utilities, and ISP bandwidth costs. All of these costs are substantial, because we have to maintain servers in three countries. (To explain: We were subjected to a couple of vicious DDOS (“ping flood”) hacker attacks last year. To be ready for any future attacks, we needed to establish automatic failover redundancy.) We don’t subject our readers to endless whining pledge drives like PBS. This is the one and only annual …


Long Distance Bug Out Planning, by J.B. in Georgia

There is a plethora of good, sound information and articles on SurvivalBlog.com that I have researched, absorbed, and adapted into much of what we have done to prepare.  I would like to personally extend my gratitude to all the contributors of this subject and let them know that the information they have freely shared has been very helpful.  In addition, there are countless other informative sites, books, and organizations gained from this web site that has also been very useful.  This article describes our particular situation, the challenges, and planning to make our escape from the crowded suburbs of Atlanta …


Letter Re: Wireless Internet in Remote Regions

James, As your readers pointed out, Internet service in remote places can be a challenge, but also delivering this connectivity to various locations on your property presents other difficulties, too.   If you have a voice telephone line, you’ve got most of what you need for dial-up Internet capability, which is painfully slow, but you will be able to pick up and send email and if you turn off all videos, images and javascript, you could do very limited web browsing.  Cable and DSL are out of the question if you live at the end of a long road with …


Letter Re: AR-15 Rifle and Pistol Legality in the U.S.

James, Please let your readers know this is dangerous ground, as ATF considers converting from rifle to pistol to be a felony. If you buy a stripped lower receiver to build into a gun, you have to decide whether to buy it as a rifle or handgun when you fill out the 4473. If you buy it as a rifle, you cannot change it later, as it violates the NFA. If you buy it as a pistol and decide to build it as a rifle, you cannot go back, as this also violates the NFA. Building it as a pistol, …


Economics and Investing:

Michael Pento: It Would Be More Surprising If Gold Didn’t Go To $10,000. s(Thanks to B.B. for the link.) Anthony Wile: The Invisible Hand Strikes Back Items from The Economatrix: Economy Weighs On Shoppers In Final Holiday Weekend Dash To The Mall US Economy Is At Depression-Era Levels:  This Slow Motion Economic Collapse… Beyond the Obvious — Mountains Of Deficit And Debt.  It Is About Polarization In Washington And Dysfunctional Structure Of The Current US Economy  “Fiscal Cliff” Deal Reached Between White House, Lawmakers


Odds ‘n Sods:

B.B. sent this great essay: Gun Control Tramples On The Certain Virtues Of A Heavily Armed Citizenry    o o o Light bulb ban on horizon. And speaking of legislation: New Year Welcomes Oddball State Laws. And the shackles have tightened even more in California: Open carry of long guns has been banned. (Are you ready to vote with your feet, Californians? Or are you going to wait until they put all gun owners on a par with child molestors?)    o o o OSOM suggested: Avoiding The Ethanol Blues    o o o Jim P. mentioned this book review: …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If even the concepts of individual responsibility and individual ability to make social agreements volitionally are to survive, then our competence in such survival skills as creativity and community must be constantly of concern, along with our tools. When it comes to tools, however, we have our our own emphasis also. There is coverage galore these days of ways to turn back full circle to subsistence living, voluntary simplicity, and virtually technology-free ways of working. That is an option, of course. Our own experience strongly suggests that people cannot be held to such limits. Human creativity always leaps over limits." …


Notes from JWR:

May God Bless and Protect all SurvivalBlog readers in this new year, regardless of calamitous events. — Today is the 125th birthday of John C. Garand (born 1888, died February 16, 1974.) — Today is also the birthday of novelist Daniel Carney. (Born 1944, died January 9, 1987.) The year 2013 also marks the 50th anniversary of Carney’s emigration to Rhodesia. Daniel Carney is best known for his 1977 novel The Wild Geese, which was soon made into a very popular movie of the same name. — Today we present another entry for Round 44 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing …


Moving to An Asset-Orientated Life by Greg G.

If you’re a long-time reader of this blog you know what to do to get prepared. Stock up on food for short and near term survival, find a location where like minded people live. Become physically fit and active, and train in self defense. But all of these things cost money. My article goes towards moving to an asset orientated lifestyle to achieve your goals. When you’re cash poor, it is tough to even think about planning. If you read these articles about guns and survival food, and retreat locations and wonder, while the dispute between .223 and .308 is …


Resolving to Start the New Year Right

Here at the Rawles Ranch, we’ve resolved to get back into doing our daily stretching/calisthenics and thrice-weekly tactical hikes on the National Forest land that compasses our property. (We had let this practice slip away last Fall, as the cold weather set in.) Hence forth, no more lame excuses. We’ve also begun supporting C.R.O.S.S. Ministries with weekly support. With automatic PayPal payments, this won’t be overlooked. They deserve your support, too. Note that these are Christian missionaries who will train South Sudanese villagers with small arms, so that they can defend themselves. This is a Biblical concept! (Luke 22:36) We’ve …


Letter Re: I Thought I Was Prepared

Hi Mr. Rawles, It is a bit embarrassing to share this account with you, but maybe, just maybe someone will learn from my errors. I guess we’ve always been ‘preppers’’ of some sort.  We’ve always had a fruit-cellar and extra personal hygiene items along with bandages etc. on the shelf.  When I found this site about 4 years ago, my husband and I took a long, hard look at where we were and where we needed to be.  The two of us are not just looking at helping ourselves, but my sister and her family.  So we dug in and …


News From The American Redoubt:

Wyoming has nation’s 4th highest population growth. Also in the news: Wyoming may loosen gun laws. (Among other things, allowing teachers to arm themselves. Yes!)    o o o Reader R.B.S. sent: Idaho ranks last in earnings by full, part-time job holders. No wonder that bartering is so popular in Idaho. Ditto for the underground economy.    o o o I noticed that Ulti-MAK (in Moscow, Idaho) has added several new scout style scope mounts to their product line. They also now have a good assortment of rail-mounted optics and gear.    o o o The Nampa, Idaho Rod & …