Category: Contest

Year Four Review of My Farm – Part 1, by SaraSue

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 …


A Quest and a Gift, by Single Farmer

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 …


Fortifying Your Garden Soil, by Hollyberry

Perhaps the biggest boost you can give your garden is great soil. The seed/plant needs all the help it can get to grow and fruit. Soil will over time lose its nutrients and minerals so it is important to keep adding to it all year round. You can spend a lot of money on bags of fertilizer, worm castings and bone meal or you can get resourceful and do it cheaper or for free. The ideal PH for garden soil is 6.0 to 6.5. You can send in soil samples to various labs or the county cooperative extensions and receive …


Post-TEOTWAWKI Refrigeration, by 3AD Scout

My Amish neighbor, who recently moved into the neighborhood, was telling me that he was going to build an ice house from a kit.  I told him to let me know when he was going to assemble it and I would give him a hand.  I have some historical knowledge of how ice used to be harvested, stored, delivered, and used before modern refrigeration, so I was very interested in how the Amish store and use their ice today. The Component kit The ice house kit consisted of 14 large pieces of styrofoam that were one foot thick.  The kit …


Collards: Our Winter Staple, by A.F.

One of the aspects of living where we do I find most appealing is the long gardening season. It is possible to keep produce of one type or another growing in the garden year-round, (though this is not the same as saying we have harvestable vegetables for the full year). Kale is the most resilient thus far since a single fall planting can carry into the following June if there is not an early heat spell. Cabbage and broccoli are each suitable for both late winter and late summer plantings and typically yield well while requiring minimal effort. When life …


Soil Chemistry Basics, by D.N.G.

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 …


Why I Still Have Dairy Cows, by SaraSue

I have been a milkmaid now three, going on four, years.  Of all the things I’ve tried on the farm, the dairy cow is one I hope to have until I am so old I can’t carry a bucket of milk.  I don’t have any cows “in milk” right now, as a planned winter break.  I have two cows pregnant with Spring calves, and one heifer (a young cow who has not yet been bred back or calved).  This is the first time I’ve taken a milking break in three years and I’m having dairy withdrawals.  I tried purchasing milk …


Prescription Drug Preparedness – Part 2, by Rural Pharmacist

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) My thoughts on the kit, it is a good grouping of valuable broad-spectrum antibiotics. I would like to store larger quantities. I think the kit could be purchased cheaper through a local Doctor/Pharmacy if available for you. A good emergency antibiotic kit should include the previous mentioned drugs; Augmentin 500mg or 875mg, Azithromycin 250mg Z-pack, Ciprofloxacin 500mg tablets, Doxycycline 100mg, and Metronidazole 500mg. I would add: Amoxicillin 500mg capsules; a broad-spectrum antibiotic, easier on the stomach than Augmentin, good for dental infections, and upper respiratory infections, pneumonia, usual dosage is 500mg 3 …


Prescription Drug Preparedness – Part 1, by Rural Pharmacist

I am a registered pharmacist licensed in both an American Redoubt state and a state in the Ozarks. I own my pharmacy in a small town in a rural area. I have had many discussions with patients about larger than normal supplies, rotating stock, ‘vacation supplies’ and various ways to accumulate a stockpile of prescription medicines. The content in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional medical advice. Having your personal pharmacist on board with your prepping list of medications, is probably the cheapest way to accumulate a stockpile. I have compared prices at …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 6, by Tunnel Rabbit

(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 …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4.) Temperature Stable Powders I will use temperature stable powder in these rifles so that during summer time temperatures, my previously safe-to-shoot cartridges is not adversely affected by an increase ambient air temperature or while chambered in a hot rifle barrel. H4895, H4831, H4350, and Varget are my top choices. I engineer a wide margin of safety for powders that are not temperature stable and settle on a lesser weight charge. Accuracy can often be found at lower pressures when using lighter projectiles and at higher pressures if using heavier projectiles. Good accuracy for lighter projectiles is …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) In my opinion, regardless if the chambering is .300 Savage, or .308 Winchester, or .30-06, using a temperature-stable powder at charge that delivers a muzzle velocity of 2,150 fps to propel a .308 150 grain round nosed bullet designed for the .30-30 is the safest practical load I could put together and recommend if the reloader is primarily interested in safety. As an example in the extreme to illustrate that a larger case capacity is more desirable in antique actions. If it were chambered in .30-06, 35 grains of IMR3031 behind a 150-grain round nosed bullet …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Sizing the Brass to the Chamber Assuming we have had a gunsmith evaluate the rifle, we should also fit the case to the chamber by backing out the die a full turn so that the shoulder of the case might be more than 1 to 2 thousandths of an inch longer. This process will compensate for the generous head spacing that exists in military actions coupled with the original military barrel, and remove any remaining and unneeded head space variance out of a re-barreled action. Accuracy might also be improved. The bolt should not close without …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Pressure Limits, PSI, CIP, and CUP How many PSI are in a CUP? And to continue the absurdity, how many CIP’s of PSI are in a CUP? Could we be more baffled and confused? Yes! And this is all the comedic relief we can expect. To include CIP into our calculus is unnecessary, yet it is mentioned only to note that it is a competing metric used in European manuals and can be a source of additional confusion. Some of the false assumptions about the pressure limits of the Swedish Mauser may lie in the inaccurate …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Remember that 1983 movie, A Christmas Story? It beautifully recreated a classic scene that captured the wonder and magic of Christmas, the anticipation and excitement of Santa’s arrival and the delivery of that Red Rider BB gun. In my case, the rifle most recently delivered by Santa was not a Red Rider BB gun, but something just as wonderful, yet better suited to an old man who is beginning to reminisce, something that is perfectly suited for the old man, but you could not know that until you had it in your hands. To my surprise, the fit and finish, …