Note From JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 40 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 …


Sheep: The Original Homesteading Livestock, by S.C.

It is my opinion that survival in a long-term, system-down situation will require a lot more than stored food and water. Survival may boil down to being able to produce food in a sustainable manner with little more than natural resources. Many people seem focused on “bug out” plans, food storage and gardening, with seemingly little thought to the long-term survivability of their plan. While gardens will provide sources of nutrition which are very necessary, the higher calorie and protein needs cannot be satisfied by gardening alone.   Eggs, milk and meat are good sources of protein with caloric benefits …


Letter Re: Water Distillation Safety

James, Thanks for posting regarding the Pure Water Revolution stills. I’d like to mention a concern regarding the purity of the ‘pure water’ mentioned in the video, and an idea for operational cost of the unit. Volatile organic compounds such as: formaldehyde, d-Limonene, toluene, acetone, ethyl alcohol, 2-propanol hexanal, propane, butane, methyl chloride, etc.  All have a boiling point lower than or equal to water.  Therefore some of these compounds will end-up in the ‘pure water’ with the setup as shown in the video. Many of the aforementioned compounds can be removed by not collecting water from the still until …


Letter Re: Fruit Crop Losses in the Great Lakes Region

Mr. Rawles, There has been a substantial loss of several fruit crops in Michigan due to unseasonable weather (warm weather caused budding followed by freezing temperatures that killed the fruit blossoms) as reported by AccuWeather.   Michigan is third in apple production and produces a fifth of this country’s sweet cherries and three quarters of its tart cherries, and prices are expected to increase. SurvivalBlog readers should take advantage of sales and supplies as they find them and can or “put by” accordingly. – Home’s Cool Mom


Two Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays

Jim: I have to say, the recent Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays article hit exactly how I view prepping for morale, especially for children (which can in turn improve the morale of adults). When I was 10 my dad lost his job and for four years he toiled at any hard labor job he could find, including roofing all the hail damaged house in the area. We went from having dessert every other dinner to barely eating and forget new clothes, we barely had money for the thrift store bargains. Luckily, there were three of us girls, so all the …


Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Cartridge Handloading

Mr. Rawles, Kent C.’s article about handloading is a very informative piece.  However, I’d like to provide a little supplemental information.  First off is the matter of cost.  Kent makes the point, with good mathematical support, that reloading doesn’t really save much money when reloading common calibers (your primary guns are in common caliber, aren’t they?), but there are a couple elements he did not mention.  I have a friend who, in conjunction with a couple other guys, put in a large freight order of reloading components for several different common calibers.  We’re talking five-digit bullet counts here, with equal …



Odds ‘n Sods:

Timothy J. sent this: Red tape twister? Alabama county blocked from putting up signs directing people to tornado shelter    o o o The Ram Home Safety Show is coming back to Houston, Texas on June 2, 2012 at the Reliant Center, re-branded as the Home Safety and Preparedness Show.  The show is going to be bigger and better than ever with the addition of the preparedness products and services. Along with the celebrity experts Mykel Hawke of Man, Woman, Wild on the Discovery Channel, plus Colby Donaldson of Survivor, and the History Channel hit show Top Shot.    o o o Not easy, but …



Note From JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 40 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 …


Some Thoughts on Cartridge Handloading, by Kent C.

In reading Don’s response to my first article, I’m going to write about a subject I was saving for next month, but I think is germane now. And I’ll probably forget it by then. Let’s talk about reloading, which also gets short shrift in a lot of books. Note–I’m not going to go into a great deal of technique here. There are books on that. If you like, I can provide my e-mail address and would be willing to answer questions that way. I’m also not going to tell you what brand of press or dies I use. If you …


Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays, by Kathryn T.

“Morale is the greatest single factor in successful wars,” said 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  I would add that morale is the greatest single success factor in any stressful situation, whether it be war, civil unrest, financial collapse, earthquake, snowstorm, serious illness, or job loss.  The means for keeping morale high is different depending on the person in question.  For adults, that may mean stockpiling tea, coffee, or brownie mix.  For children, though, it often means continuing to recognize the celebrations of happier times. To that end, I keep a “prize box” in our basement.  Throughout the year, I …


Letter Re: Don’t Be Blind-sided By a Secondary Event

Dear James: I second the motion – any nuclear power experts on the blog that can comment on the threat from further catastrophes in Japan, or similar catastrophes happening here in the US? Quite frankly I had not paid enough attention to Fukushima.  What I am finally reading is incredibly disturbing.   To summarize, we have a fragile earthquake, and tsunami damaged building, holding tons of highly radioactive and unstable nuclear fuel rods – on the building’s second storey, 100 feet in the air, in an active earthquake zone. Here is a photo. Here is a quote: “If an earthquake or …


Letter Re: Maps, Legends, and Ground Truth

Hello James,  Our contribution to being prepared was a Sunday drive. Here is what we did:   An essential piece of equipment for anyone contemplating any kind of emergency relocation are good maps. If your relocation is a “bug out” due to deterioration of local conditions you need to have a plan. In consideration that my current well placed rural residence might be a point of contention for those who want to ‘borrow my belongings and harbor unnatural urges about the occupants I have taken to making exploratory trips about my county. Even though we are sheltering in place an …