Category: Contest

Friction Fire- Part 1, by N.E.

I believe fire by friction is one of the most valuable skills we can have in our bag of tricks. Beyond “simply” making fire, the process provides a sense of freedom that people interested in prepping, survival, and outdoor skills no doubt highly value. It also provides important insight into human ingenuity. It can enhance appreciation for those who came before us and exposes how dependent we have become on the modern, consumer-based system. In this post I will demonstrate how to successfully create a bow drill set. To demonstrate fire by friction, I have made a bow drill set …


Why I Started Prepping, by KB

Several years ago, right after the election of Barrack Hussein Obama as President of the USA, a feeling crept over me that things were about to change. It is at that moment that I seriously began to start preparing for what now is evident, that our country and the world are in a severe downward spiral. CEOs of America’s top companies were so busy exporting our jobs for the sake of the bottom line, keeping shareholders happy, and avoiding high U.S. corporate tax rates that one day we woke up to find that the middle class in America was disappearing. …


The Survival Battery- Part 3, by B.F.

Mid-Level Battery The mid-level battery I will recommend is as follows, with four each in most categories of guns for redundancy and so that they don’t have to be shared. Mid-Level Everyday Battery There are two choices here for a handgun– one semi auto and one revolver. Four Glock Gen four model 21 in 45acp. The 45acp may not be quite as powerful as a 44 magnum, but the 13+1 rounds it carries should compensate. If you don’t mind stocking a less popular more expensive caliber, then the Glock model 20 in 10mm gives you 15+1 rounds that have close …


The Survival Battery- Part 2, by B.F.

On to the firearms batteries. I am a big fan of used guns. Most of the time, a used gun has not been shot much and you can pick it up for a significant savings over a new one. Right now is a great time to pick up trade-in police department handguns. Police trade-ins make an especially good deal for the person who is buying a gun to use rather than to show off. Even though the finish may be worn and the grips in need of replacement, they may only have been shot 100 rounds per year at annual …


The Survival Battery- Part 1, by B.F.

I recently “rediscovered” the late Mel Tappan’s book Survival Guns. I remember reading his articles in Guns and Ammo and Soldier of Fortune back in the ’60s and ’70s, and I had a copy of Survival Guns when I was stationed in Germany as a small arms repairman in the mid ’70s. I left that copy in the unit’s common library when I PCS’d back to the world and had not thought about it until lately when I found a reprint available on Amazon. A lot of writers have shared their thoughts about what should constitute a survival battery. JWR, …


Are We Prepared?, by Michael G.

We heard a medical doctor issue a warning before the dawn of the new century that we needed to get prepared. All of the engineers interviewed in IEEE Magazine at the time said we were in trouble. I did not want to face my family at the dinner table regretting there was no food because I did not heed qualified warnings. I had to act. We considered what we might need and went out and purchased what we could afford by priority. We prepared as though we were preparing for war and assumed we would have to make it on …


Why You Need a Rocket Stove And How To Build Three Types- Part 2, by Charles Fockaert

How to Build a Rocket Stove From Tin Cans Prep Mode Two types of cans can be used for the main body of your tin can rocket stove– a #10 can or a metal paint can. I much prefer the metal paint can for two reasons. First, it has a lid. Secondly, it has a built-in handle. I will explain how to build a rocket stove out of a paint can. The process is basically the same for the #10 can. Let’s start by taking a look at what the finished product looks like. This is a photo of a …


Why You Need a Rocket Stove And How To Build Three Types- Part 1, by Charles Fockaert

It finally happened. You knew it would. It took longer than you expected, but the Schumer hits the blades scenario you knew was coming is here. It is now “Your. New. Reality”. To survive, you are going to have to cook food and heat water daily, for yourself, for your family, and perhaps for your friends but maybe without electricity, propane, or natural gas. All you have available for fuel is wood. Your New Reality The Federal Reserve Note, a fiat currency created out of thin air by the multiple trillions over the last 100 years, has been rejected finally …


A Lesson from Fasting for Preparedness, by J.C.

First off, let me tell you a little bit about myself and experiences. I am a thirty-four years old, six foot tall, and an active male who enjoys long distance trail running, running mountains, and competing in mud obstacle races and triathlons. I have been married fourteen years and have two pre-teen sons. I currently work out of town as a carpenter and commute three hours each day and work ten-hour days five and sometimes six days a week. During the warmer months, I train nearly every day, mostly running on stairs, hills, trails. During the winter, I am running …


Winter Survival- Part 3, by R.C.

In Your Home In the first two parts of this series, we talked about how to survive on foot and in your vehicle in winter weather conditions. In this third part, we will discuss some plans to survive in your home during a cold weather event. The two worst fears for many of people who read this blog is that “the event” happpens in the winter and the grid goes down. The easy answer would be, I’ll get in my car, use mass transit, or fly somewhere that’s warm. During this past storm, we saw the shut down of all …


Winter Survival- Part 2, by R.C.

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In Your Vehicle In this part, we will discuss how to survive in your vehicle. We have all seen the news of cars stuck in a trafic jams or abandoned on the side of the road. Then we listen to the mayor or some emergency management guy telling us to stay off the roads, not to abandon our vehicles, or please not walk down the middle of the plowed street because the sidewalk is now shoveled. As a former snowplow operator and first responder, I would have to agree. Stay home, and keep your kids home if it’s a bad …


Winter Survival- Part 1, by R.C.

In this three-part series on winter survival, we will examine surviving the winter on foot, in your vehicle, and in your home. We have all seen the videos of the recent storms and how even though the news have been reporting nonstop on the dangers of winter travel, the general public is out in it woefully unprepared. If you are reading this from your warm armchair or desk, I’m probably preaching to the choir. In the past I have been a snowplow operator, a first responder, and an instructor of CPR/First Aid and wilderness first aid in the Intermountain West. …


Fitness for Success When the SHTF– Part 4 by J.P.M.

Pacing for the Out-of-Shape If you are out of shape and trying to lose weight and build strength, start with small increments that you are able to handle, such as doing only ten sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and jumping jacks. Then rest until the burning sensation subsides but no more than a minute. Then do another round until you have completed your workout time. Dedicating 15-30 minutes is a good amount of time for a balanced workout. If you have a pull-up bar (make sure you have one at your SHTF retreat; good plans for building one exist online), do as …


Fitness for Success When the SHTF– Part 3 by J.P.M.

The Dead Lift Pulling is probably one of the best movements for overall leg and lower back growth, plain and simple. Dead lifts hit your quads, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, abs, traps, and upper lats. This exercise does require a barbell. Walk to the bar. Stand with your mid-foot under the bar. Don’t touch it with your shins yet. Stand with feet at hip width stance and toes out 15°. Grab the bar, narrow, with hands about shoulder-width apart. Arms should be vertical from the front view, hanging just outside your legs. Bend your knees and keep going until your …


Fitness for Success When the SHTF– Part 2 by JPM

Practical Fitness. As the title implies, I believe in “practical fitness”. In my opinion, many people make fitness an obsession that takes over an inordinate amount of their day. I’m not saying it should be something like, “Oh, yeah, time to do that again”, only doing it as a once-a-week-drudgery. Dedicated physical exercise should be something we all engage in on a daily basis. But, it should be in the proper context: to prepare and maintain our body to live safe, healthy, active, productive lives. Physical exercise isn’t the focal goal, but its benefits are. It’s for this reason that …