Category: Contest

Are You Self-Reliant, Self-Sufficent, or Self-Sustaining?, by Mrs. Alaska

One of our goals each year is to decrease our dependency on others by increasing our skills and resources. In the city, it was convenient to pay for services and products. Living remotely, we learn to do many things ourselves or do without. I evaluate aspects of our life on a continuum from dependent to independent: Dependent on others Self-reliant Self-sufficient Self-sustaining Given recent news reports of coronavirus and the economy, tornadoes, wildfires, and power outages, perhaps readers are applying this sort of rubric to their situations, too.


Thoughts on a General Purpose AR-15 Rifle – Part 2, by Steve A.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) The mid-length and rifle length gas systems are known for operating the action more smoothly when compared to the carbine length system. The mid length gas system increases for the carbine length barrel. The longer gas tube gives a longer bolt carrier dwell time in the rifle, which lets all the moving pieces work a little more slowly and less violently but still quickly and energetically enough to let the bolt carrier move back fully and allow the bolt to strip the next round off of the magazine reliably. The entire recoil …


Thoughts on a General Purpose AR-15 Rifle – Part 1, by Steve A.

You are a safe and responsible firearms owner. After much research on the web and discussion with friends and family, you have made the decision to purchase or build up a general service AR15 style 5.56/.223 caliber rifle and accept the responsibility of doing so. You have a reasonable budget in mind. Now what? You can certainly go buy a complete factory rifle and do very well with it. However, particularly if you plan to use the rifle for a lot of different uses you may well wish to order it bult to your specifications or build it yourself. By …


IT Careers and Rural Living, by M.J.

I’m writing this as an expansion of JWR’s article posted on December 8, 2022. As he noted, many office jobs can now be done from home. This article is about how I got started in my career in Infomation Technology (IT). While bumpy at times, IT has really paid off for me financially. I hope that my article will inspire some readers to follow a similar path, which may allow them to escape the dysfunctional cities. For those who are already living in rural America, read on to find out about another way to earn income. I got started in …


Upgrade Your Bug Out Bag’s Batteries, by Kevin Berg

I recently finished reading another set of doom and gloom novels. I like these stories as they give me ideas of what to do or options to consider if the need arises. After I put the book down, I thought about the equipment that was used and if it was relevant to my needs. I pulled out my go bag and dumped out the contents. What a revelation to see some of my mistakes. There were three major areas of potential catastrophe. The first was that I had the wrong clothing for the season at hand. The second issue was …


A Young Man’s Preps – Part 3, by St. Leibowitz

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Assembling Your Kits You should have or be in the process of getting some kind of long-range weapon and one or two blades for various tasks. These are going to be integrated into your preparedness primarily as hunting and survival tools, though defensive use is of course on your mind. I like to think of my supplies in terms of “kits.” In my teens, my Crosman 1377 air gun, slingshot, and some snare wire were my “small game kit,” which lived in an old Polish gas mask bag. In the same bag …


A Young Man’s Preps – Part 2, by St. Leibowitz

(Continued from Part 1.) Blades Knives are next. Knife laws vary wildly even between the states. We got most knives legalized here in Texas a while back, but there are still some that are prohibited in certain locations. In most places you can at least have a pocket knife without too much trouble. Victorinox’s Swiss Army knives are quite good, and look a little less scary than, say, a Spyderco tactical folder. Assess what you want and need, and get one. Or two. Or several. Just don’t go crazy buying any old knife that looks cool. You need to save …


A Young Man’s Preps – Part 1, by St. Leibowitz

The world is increasingly becoming a less comfortable place. You, as a teenage or young adult man reading this, have hopefully recognized this. You’d have to be oblivious not to. A lot of us are. This guide is meant to help give a high school to college-aged guy some ideas on how to increase his own personal preparedness. I have some small experience with this: I grew up in a moderately prepared family, and due to the intersection of theirs and my interests, I have what I think is a relatively realistic view of what is an attainable level of …


Staying Safe Around Big Trucks, by SwampFox

Chances are, if you are buying something from a store or ordering it online, a truck brought it to you. While rail and air freight play a role in our transportation system, they generally do not make deliveries for the final mile, or even the final 100 miles. That means there are a lot of trucks on the road, and a lot of truck drivers. In 2020, the Department of Labor estimated that there were over two million truck drivers on American roads. I am one of those truck drivers. I have worked in the industry for a few years, …


Estimating Your Off-Grid Power Needs, by Mrs. Alaska

The European energy lobbying group 2000WATTS.org proposes that 2,000 watts is the amount of power that would be available to humans if each one of the 7.9 billion people on the planet had access to the same amount. Their concern is that our power resources are dwindling. Whether you agree or disagree with their assumptions, it is interesting to consider how much power our frequently used appliances require.  When I lived in a city, I never thought about this.  I just flipped switches and paid utility bills.  However, with so many parts of the country suffering power outages, I imagine …


Gas Station Economics, by SwampFox

Fuel prices have been rising for a couple of years, and this past summer’s high cost was frustrating for almost everybody. Who profits, and why is the price so high? How does a gas station make money? How many steps are involved in getting oil from the ground, turning it into fuel, and putting it in your tank? It is more complicated than you might think. First, oil has to be found and removed from the earth. Drills, pipes, pumps, lots of metal, and heavy labor. Every part of that carries a very high cost that is passed along to …


Mass Casualty Trauma Kit, by Thomas Christianson

Recently, the Safety and Security Team of my church had the opportunity to evaluate the Mass Casualty Trauma Kit assembled by Mountain Man Medical, of Colorado. Overall, the Team found the kit to be a quality item. The kit was smaller than the team initially expected based upon the “mass casualty” label. Further research revealed that the kit is designed to be used in tandem with a number of other kits, based upon the peak occupancy of the facility being supplied. With excellent components and a price of $219.99 the Mass Casualty Trauma Kit offers good value for the money. …


Springfield Armory Ronin 1911 10mm, by Pat Cascio

I requested a sample of the new Springfield Armory Ronin 1911 in 10mm as soon as I heard about it. Still, I had to sit and wait for my sample – this gun, in this caliber, is in great demand! Back in 1988, I owned the only 1911-pattern pistol chambered in 10mm at that time. I ended up selling it, because we just moved back to Oregon, and my wife wasn’t yet working as a teacher and I was on disability from an auto accident – collecting a whopping $125 per week. I thought I’d never own another 10mm in …


Avoiding Complacence in Security, by Robert Downing

While visiting a local church, I had an interesting experience, from a Safety/Security standpoint. My wife and I attended an organ recital at a church after they had installed a massive new pipe organ. The organ was centrally placed with a massive lighting system set up around it to highlight it. The overhead lights lit up the entire area around the organ and additional lights (perhaps as many as 40 small lights) were set up underneath the organ to highlight the various pedals used by the organist. The organist (well-accomplished and semi-famous) explained to the audience the history of the …


Writing Contest Winners Announced — Round 103

We’ve completed the judging for Round 103 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prize winners are: First Prize: First prize is awarded to St. Funogas, for: My Ten-Day Test-My-Preps Adventure Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. which was posted on October 13-17 2022. He will receive the following 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 Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course …