Practice Makes Perfect- Part 2, by BON

As I stated in part 1, real world practice beats newly acquired knowledge every time. To be truly prepared for a survival situation, one needs to have practiced practical knowledge of the various skills that are required. In part 1, we covered setting up a test, various sources for power, and sanitation. Let’s move forward to one of the most critical resources we have– water. Water, One of the Most Critical Needs One of the most critical needs is going to be water. Are you storing water? Do you have enough? Use the grid down weekend to determine how much …




Practice Makes Perfect- Part 1, by BON

We live in a time when information on virtually any subject can be found with little effort. Prior to the Internet, in order to pick up a new skill or gain new knowledge on a subject, one had to learn by trial and error or find an expert to pass along information. With the plethora of blogs, websites, forums, and videos found online, “expert” level knowledge can be found without ever leaving the comforts of home. Knowledge Put Into Practice While knowledge is always a good thing, the only way to truly understand any subject is to get hands on …




Survival Fitness and Health- Part 4, by JBH

This article is about physical fitness, because I believe it is most important for those who want to survive some of the potentially devastating and even not so devastating situations that one can encounter today. I’m not an athlete but have been involved in fitness training for decades and done quite a bit of research as well. As an introduction to the concept of fitness, I identified its components– muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and body composition. I also have gone over the first and most of the second of the four principles/variables applicable to all fitness activities: specificity, intensity, …




Survival Fitness and Health- Part 3, by JBH

This article is about physical fitness, because I believe it is most important for those who want to survive some of the potentially devastating and even not so devastating situations that one can encounter today. I’m not an athlete but have been involved in fitness training for decades and done quite a bit of research as well. As an introduction to the concept of fitness, I identified its components– muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and body composition. This essay series is for informational purposes only. Fitness concepts are discussed that the reader may find informative, however the reader is advised …




Survival Fitness and Health- Part 2, by JBH

This article is about physical fitness, because I believe it is most important for those who want to survive some of the potentially devastating and even not so devastating situations that one can encounter today. I’m not an athlete but have been involved in fitness training for decades and done quite a bit of research as well. As an introduction to the concept of fitness, I identified its components– muscular strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and body composition. This essay series is for informational purposes only. Fitness concepts are discussed that the reader may find informative, however the reader is advised …




Survival Fitness and Health- Part 1, by JBH

This essay series is for informational purposes only. Fitness concepts are discussed that the reader may find informative; however, the reader is advised to visit their health care provider and obtain medical clearance prior to embarking on any exercise program. The author is not a health care professional and assumes no responsibility for injuries or detrimental health effects the reader may sustain from performing any fitness regimen. As evidenced by the multitude of subjects covered in SurvivalBlog and other preparedness websites, many elements come into play if you desire to survive some of the potentially devastating and even not so …




Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 5, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

Survival Water Filtration, Purification, and Disinfection Methods (continued) Without water, survival is impossible, even if you have a storage facility filled with bullets, bandaids, beans, and batteries. My family and I prep in the desert southwest and have taken action so that we won’t find ourselves thirsty in the event of a crisis. In parts 2 and 3 of this article series, I thoroughly covered both professional drilled and hand dug wells. But once you have access to the water, you need to be sure it is safe to drink. So, in Part 4, we began looking at methods for …




Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 4, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

Without water, survival is impossible, even if you have a storage facility filled with bullets, bandaids, beans, and batteries. My family and I prep in the desert southwest and have taken action so that we won’t find ourselves thirsty in the event of a crisis. In parts 2 and 3 of this article series, I thoroughly covered both professional drilled and hand dug wells. But once you have access to the water, you need to be sure it is safe to drink. So, let’s look at methods for survival water filtration, purification, and disinfection. Survival Water Filtration, Purification, and Disinfection …




Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 3, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

Without water, survival is impossible, even if you have a storage facility filled with bullets, bandaids, beans, and batteries.. My family and I prep in the desert southwest and have taken action so that we won’t find ourselves thirsty in the event of a crisis. In parts one and two, I’ve gone over some of the basics of a well and how professionals put one in while machinery is available to do so. However, that may not always be available. Building Your Own Emergency Well 101 Knowing how to building your own well without access to professional machinery is a …




Thirsty Are Those Who Do Not Prep- Part 2, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

Without water, survival is impossible, even if you have a storage facility filled with bullets, bandaids, beans, and batteries. My family and I prep in the desert southwest and have taken action so that we won’t find ourselves thirsty in the event of a crisis. Well Drilling 101 (continued) Methods and Techniques Used to Find Groundwater Ideally, you want to have year around dedicated water access. However, not everyone has access to a fresh lake, spring, aquifer, pond, or stream. Many people have to drill a well, and that’s what we are talking about now– Well Drilling 101. Specifically, we …




Ten Years After, by JPK

It seems like yesterday, but it’s been ten years since we started on this wild journey of at first just prepping and then and now homesteading! (While it’s sad, I think I still have some canned food dated 2008. Yikes!) Actually if I really think about it, we did actually start in baby steps while we had concerns about Y2K. But the real path was not there, for us. The Light Bulb Went On After Patriots We believe the light bulb went on after reading James Wesley, Rawles’ Patriots Surviving the Coming Collapse (the expanded edition). We stopped and re-evaluated …




The Gunfighter’s Guide: Lessons Learned the Hard Way- Part 3, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

This article is a compilation of lessons I have learned, either from real world events or through lessons taught to me by the men and women I served with. Their advice has saved my life on a few occasions, and perhaps this gunfighter’s guide, also developed from lessons learned the hard way, may do the same for you one day. In part 1, I covered three main topics– cars and guns, the scorpion vs. box jellyfish philosophies, and close quarters battle takeaways. Today we will move into fighting in larger spaces, specifically the backwoods and move onto other topics also. …




The Gunfighter’s Guide: Lessons Learned the Hard Way- Part 2, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

This article is a compilation of lessons I have learned, either from real world events or through lessons taught to me by the men and women I served with. Their advice has saved my life on a few occasions, and perhaps this gunfighter’s guide, also developed from lessons learned the hard way, may do the same for you one day. In part 1, I covered three main topics– cars and guns, the scorpion vs. box jellyfish philosophies, and close quarters battle takeaways. Today we will move into fighting in larger spaces, specifically the backwoods and move onto other topics also. …




The Gunfighter’s Guide: Lessons Learned the Hard Way- Part 1, by The Grumpy Gunfighter

For me shooting has been away of life. I can vividly remember the first time my father handed me a .22 rifle and the awe it inspired in me. Its wood stock had been worn smooth by generations of men in my family who had owned it before me. Its presence had felt like a warm handshake in my grip that welcomed me into a skill that has served me well over the years. That old .22 must have made quite an impression on me because after two police departments, some time in the military, and several shooting competitions later, …




Utilizing a Self-Directed IRA: A Case Study in Investing Outside of Wall Street- Part 2, by J.J.

In a conversation with a successful and well off friend, I discovered that it was possible to invest outside of Wall Street. I had experienced the extreme fluctuations of economic bubbles and wanted something more secure as I planned for retirement. After learning more about his approach, I took baby steps to reevaluate my own investment approach to move toward a self-directed IRA. In part 1, I shared the first step toward a self-directed IRA for investing outside of Wall Street to achieve greater safety and diversification and now let’s move forward. Following the Wisdom of a King In the …