Category: Contest

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced for Round 117

We’ve announced the winners of Round 117 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 117 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to M.B., for:  3D-Printed Gun Components, for a six-part article posted March 11-16, 2025.  See:  Part 1, Part 2,  Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.) He will receive as prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy …


The Winds May Blow So Hearts Can Grow, by St. Funogas

Some of the recent rough weather in March spawned a lot of high winds and tornadoes. After seeing some of the stories in the media, a buddy and I decided to pack up our chain saws and take a little road trip. It was o’ dark thirty and we were in pretty jolly spirits as we pulled out of the driveway. We were drinking coffee from thermoses like the coffee gods intended, not from those newfangled insulated travel mugs. Spring was springing, the pastures were greening up, the peach trees were just starting to flower, and the bees were so …


A Disaster Laptop Computer – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Reference Material Another useful function that computers do really well is store, manage, and interact with information. No one can remember everything, and there are a lot of sources of free or low-cost eBooks, articles, documents, manuals, etc. on the Internet that can be extremely useful for a post-disaster world. I created a folder on the 1TB microSD card on my disaster laptop named ‘Reference Material’, and here are some of the things I’ve collected and stored there: SurvivalBlog Archive – ($33) An obvious choice for SurvivalBlog readers. [JWR Adds: It also …


A Disaster Laptop Computer – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.) I’ve created a list of the applications that I consider critical for supporting my post-disaster requirements. Where possible I prefer free or low-cost and open source software, but there are a couple of applications that you’re better off paying for. Note that many free or open source projects have the option to donate to their efforts – those folks invest a lot of their personal time writing and maintaining the applications, so if you find it useful please consider making a donation to help support their efforts. While I’m focusing on a Windows solution, most of …


A Disaster Laptop Computer – Part 1, by J.M.

Unless you’re already living completely self-sufficiently and off-grid, when a TEOTWAWKI scenario comes along you’re going to have to quickly adapt your lifestyle and mindset in order to survive long-term. That means bringing all of your preparations to bear, including skills, expertise, information and supplies. While you may have prepared for immediate survival, implementing a major long-term shift in your lifestyle will require an organized approach to keep track of the information, schedules and other activities you’ll need to keep going. In ‘normal’ times many of us use computers to perform these types of activities, and there’s no reason you …


Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) The Final Answer: How Reliable Are Freezer Bags For Storing Food? The most important questions these experiments were trying to answer is how reliable freezer bags are as a food-storage method? Do they work for the short term? And how well will they work for the long term? Thinner sandwich bags are definitely a bad way to go. Pests had chewed through the plastic in just a few months. Pantry moths in my cupboard also had no trouble chewing through the foil packets of hot chocolate or getting under the lid of …


Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) Results of Cornmeal in Sandwich Bags As a side tangent, I wanted to know if weevils and their eggs in feed corn could survive being coarse ground into corn meal. Cornmeal is not ground as finely as wheat flour so I thought perhaps there was a small chance some eggs would survive. I put some weevily corn into the hopper of the grinder, added a bunch more weevils sifted out from some other corn, and ground it into meal. After grinding, half of the meal was put into a mason jar with a sealed lid, the …


Food Prepping With Freezer Bags – Part 1, by St. Funogas

As a followup to my article, “Just-in-Time Food Storage” (Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) this article is to share with the reader the results of my freezer-bag food-storage experiments. The first article was for those who don’t currently have any food stored but plan on doing so at the last minute if it looks like the Schumer may be soon hitting the fan. While this wait-and-see method is highly discouraged and defeats the whole purpose of prepping, two methods were presented for those who’ll still be procrastinating anyway. Method 1: No special preps, just get some food! …


A Water or Fuel Level Sensor Circuit, by Mike in Alaska

We live up in the Arctic. Water is not always easily available in this area, various events can cause power to go out for weeks at time … what could possibly go wrong? The following design is for a fuel or water level sensor circuit. It uses a 66F002 MCU (Microprocessor Control Unit) with a built-in Analog to Digital flash storage read-only memory (A/D Flash EEPROM) using a sensor that has a prism built into a lens in the form of a sealed IR (Infrared) detector. When the sensor is bare (dry) the logic input to the MCU is logic …


3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 6 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article.) “All individuals are entitled to the utility to defend their humanity. Gun control has failed. You can’t stop the signal.” —from the original Deterrence Dispensed (now known as The Gatalog) website OPEN SOURCE FIREARMS “Open Source Firearms” is a term that I’ve used to describe those few firearms that are so popular that parts—as well as information about the firearms—are widely available. Moreover, these arms are so popular that even frames or receivers are being made by companies other than the one that first sold the firearms. An “open source” gun is …


3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 5 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 4.) I couldn’t find the command to flip the parts in the menus of Prusa Slicer, but a right-click on the object allowed me to “Mirror” it. It took a moment’s thought, to make sure I mirrored the hinge box and brace in the right dimension (X, Y, or Z). Once I figured it out and mirrored the two parts, I was able to print a right-folding brace! Have the Right Tools A small collection of tools will help you process a new print into a finished item. Power tools are seldom needed. Eye protection, and mask …


3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 4 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 3.) “Am fear nach gheidh Na h-airm ‘nam na sith, Cha bhi iad aige ‘n am A chogaidli.” (Who keeps not his arms in times of peace, Will have no arms in times of war.) – Scottish Gaelic Proverb (with a hat tip to James Tarr)   Other Filaments Nylon Reportedly, nylon ranges from challenging to very difficult to print. It is temperature-sensitive and can warp as it cools. It requires temperatures at or close to 300° C., which many 3D printers cannot reach without modification. It also gives off fumes during printing. This and its temperature …


3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 3 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 2.) Printable Frames and Receivers These projects generally use a 3D-printed frame or receiver, which is combined with firearm parts to create a finished firearm. Some of these designs can fire over 1,000 rounds without the frame or receiver failing. Projects in this category include a variety of AR-15 lower receivers, such as the UBAR2 and the Hoffman Tactical SL-15, a vast array of Glock frames, like the FMDA DD19.2,  Ruger 10-22 receivers,  and a variety of MAC11/9 lower receivers. There are also projects based on Smith & Wesson M&P pistols, Ruger pistols, Beretta pistols, CETME rifles, …


3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 2 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 1.) “The price of freedom is everyone gets it, but some people will misuse it. …is that a reason to prohibit everyone from having it?” – Ian McCollum GETTING STARTED WITHOUT A PRINTER! If you’re not sure if 3D printing is for you, then you may be able to try it without owning a printer! Start by finding a fairly small and simple object you’d like to print in a database like Thingiverse. Download it, along with a free slicer program, like Cura, or Prusa Slicer. Now contact your local public library. Some libraries offer 3D printing—often …


3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 1, by M.B.

Disclaimer This article covers information and activities that are legal under U.S. federal law and in the author’s state of residence. It is the reader’s responsibility to know and comply with applicable laws in their jurisdiction. Neither the author, nor SurvivalBlog, have any control over readers of this article. This article is therefore for informational purposes only. INTRODUCTION “Whether or not you live in England, the right of Free Speech is a universally treasured right, but sadly, a right that is still denied to millions of people around the world.” – Philip A. Luty, as quoted in L. Neil Smith’s …