Category: Contest

January 20, 2025 was a pivotal day in American political history. President Donald J. Trump (DJT) was ushered into office on a very cold day that necessitated an indoor ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda, beneath the Apotheosis painting vowed to “dismantle government bureaucracy.” On that day, many of the Deep State inhabitants of the District of Criminals gave DJT a cold reception. A few Democrat Governors have even promised to actively resist DJT’s planned reforms. So has the leftist ACLU. Just as he promised, DJT signed more than 100 executive orders (EOs) in the first 28 hours of his second …

About once a quarter I look at the list of ideas the editors collected for potential article topics in hopes that there is an area where I might be able to contribute to the community. For over a year I have noted the construction projects and realistic hand tools suggestions and wondered what approach I could take to share my experience(s). For context, I have spent most of my life in either the building or engineering workforces and currently have my own small general contracting business. The source material for this article came about with the recognition that I had …

Editor’s Introductory Note:  I am belatedly posting the following article that was submitted to SurvivalBlog back in August of 2021. I held off running it because at the time the owners of arm-braced pistols were in legal limbo.  But as of January 15, 2025, the BATF has finally conceded to the Fifth Circuit Court’s November 8, 2023 nationwide injunction of not enforcing their on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again ban on arm-braced pistols.  That was reinforced by an Eighth Circuit Court decision in August, 2024 that called the ATF’s ban “arbitrary and capricious.” — I refer to myself as a …

The .357 Magnum revolver cartridge is a favorite with many people for hunting and self-defense. It is a proven performer with a great balance of power and controllability. It is available in handy mid-size revolvers. It is a great trail gun cartridge and easy to reload. I use it as a sidearm to keep on my person when rifle hunting or walking around my property. It is hard to go wrong choosing a .357 Magnum revolver from any of the major manufacturers. Both single-action and double-action revolvers are readily available. The Ruger Blackhawk series of single actions are extremely reliable. …

There is a lot to be thankful for! The Infrastructure After several years of working on the Farm, repairing and replacing this and that, there was one last repair that had to be done.  Well, there are a few, but they aren’t on the critical list.  I was able to have the HVAC system replaced so that the farm house stayed warm when needed, and cool when needed.  A huge blessing.  I had an invisible fence installed around the farm to keep the LGDs home; and “the farm truck”, which is just my little car, needed a lot of maintenance …

The new year has begun, and while it was a struggle to manage the farm and family matters last year, I’m feeling good about where things are now.  I had too many animals on the farm of various types, fences that didn’t hold, and learned a lot about the animals’ different needs.  I culled, sold, gave away, and downsized in a big way in some areas and upsized in others.  I was running as fast as I could and that led to exhaustion.  My “farm dreams” were sore in need of a reality check.  But, the good news is, I …

Editor’s Introductory Note: I’ve had a consulting client for more than two years, who I’ve learned to trust. He lives on a family farm. Please note that he is looking for a young woman who would like to be married and have children. She does not need any experience in agriculture. – JWR — I’ll begin this piece with a preview of something included in a six-part article that will be posted in SurvivalBlog, starting tomorrow: Go back just a few generations, and there were no “food stamp” coupons or cards allowing you the benefit of the cornucopia of modern …

I want to write about soil chemistry.  A very brief overview is as follows: I became interested in gardening when three years old and by the time I was a teenager I was putting as much (sometimes more) food on the table as my father. I had pretty much taken over the family garden and spent more time there than all of our other family members put together. Winter Squash was my number one vegetable that I enjoyed growing the most, but there were others including sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, watermelon, muskmelon, cucumbers and a …

(Continued from Part 5.  This concludes the article.) The 6.5×55 Performance Standard A modern heavy for caliber bullet that is soft in construction and has a very high ballistic coefficient is the smarter way to compensate for modest velocities. The 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser cartridge is emblematic if not iconic for sedate velocities yet flat trajectories and spectacular accuracy at ranges that can exceed 1,400 yards. A high ballistic coefficient allows a bullet to retain its momentum and buck the wind far better than most higher powder cartridges and it does this at pressure suitable for most antique actions. Beyond 100 …