Category: Contest

Nobody Wants To Be That Guy, by The Lone Canadian

I listen to the news daily, and I know that to a great extent they are lying to us. I listen to the politicians give their little speeches and their sound bites, and I know they are lying. I watched President Trump walk quietly away from the big chair even though we continue to see proof, to this day, that there was widespread election fraud. First, the Federal Reserve told us there would be no inflation, and then when they could no longer hide the facts, they told us that it will be transitory. The government tells us that a …


Home-Made Insulin, by C.S.

After seeing several discussions online in various forums about how individuals with type 1 diabetes would be able to survive post-Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF), I became curious. FIRST AND FOREMOST: I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL NOR A SCIENTIST AND ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE RESEARCHED INDEPENDENTLY AND ALWAYS CONSULT WITH MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. Okay, insulin is the body’s way of controlling the levels of sugar in your blood. All of today’s insulin is synthesized but when it was first discovered it all came from animals. Insulin is produced in the pancreas or pancreatic areas. Approaching this …


Here’s Why U.S. Supply Chain Problems Will Only Get Worse, by Brandon Smith

It is an economic rule which free-market philosophers like Adam Smith have tried to explain to governments and monopolists for centuries: Less liberty and more centralization equals less production and less overall wealth. Governments and central banks have sought to circumvent this rule by printing money from thin air, thinking that they can create wealth while at the same time suffocating public financial interactions and trade with authoritarianism. This, of course, only leads to inflation or stagflation, and thus wealth is never actually created, it is projected like a hologram in order to trick the masses into thinking that all is well – …


Smith and Wesson MP9 EZ, by The Novice

This is my review and range report on the Smith and Wesson Performance Center M&P9 Shield “EZ” variant. The Smith and Wesson Performance Center M&P9 Shield EZ is an easily-loaded and easily-racked 9mm handgun with the best overall handgun sights that I have ever used. I am not really a fan of the grip safety, and I wish that the sights were adjustable for elevation as well as windage. Other than that, I can’t think of any way to improve this fine design. The Backstory A friend of mine, “Running Man”, recently acquired his first handgun. It was entrusted to …


How to Quickly Kindle a Fire, by St. Funogas

Comments on SurvivalBlog last winter about some folks having issues starting their morning fire in the woodstove got me to thinking about how crucial fire-building skills should be in our skill-set preps, as well as an important every-day skill for those of us who heat with wood or build fires on a regular basis. If TEOTWAWKI becomes a reality and a wood fire becomes common for heating and cooking, this knowledge will be essential. Much has been written on the many aspects of building a fire, mostly geared towards wilderness emergencies, but they typically only address how to ignite tinder, …


Establishing a Community Corner, by Mark C.

Introduction In this essay, I’m recommending a concept. I hope to see some feedback in the blog’s Snippets column, in the next couple of weeks. In a nutshell, I’m suggesting establishing small town Community Cornera — Community-Minded Meeting Places and Event Centers. DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer and seek legal advice for all businesses before pursuing anything spelled out below. As a Redoubter, I am relocating to a small town with little more than a few restaurants, a gas station, and a coffee shop.  I noticed a small prime location corner suite available for lease. My mind has gone …


Hardening Your Stick-Built Home, by Jeff G.

Imagine the world is full of looters, in the end of times as we know it, it will be. When grid power goes down everyone else food from the urban and suburban areas find food. You are prepared aren’t you? You have done everything right. You have food stored for you and your family, you have guns, ammo, seeds, batteries, etc. The closer you are to an urban area the sooner it will happen. Even if you are in a remote area west of the Missouri River they will probably find you. No matter how many safeguards you have in …


Serious Silver Stacking – Part 2, by East Sierra Sage

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) On the federal Holiday in the first week of this October, I was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in my truck getting “totaled” by my Insurer. My truck was 13 years old, I bought it brand new for an unbelievably great price. I had put 229,959 miles on it. In fact, I was taking it to the 330,000 mile oil change when the wreck occurred. My insurer gave me just $9,000 for that total loss I was pleasantly surprised by this sum. I am going to replace this truck with …


Serious Silver Stacking – Part 1, by East Sierra Sage

How I learned to save my money and make it grow without the oversight of a Bank, Credit Union, or other Financial Institutions. And how to insulate yourself from inflation, domestic financial stagnation, and an eventual economic depression or financial and equities collapse! I never looked at money from a long-term perspective until the end of my military career when I realized that I should have done better with saving my money for when I was older. I can say that I put three kids through college and helped them out whenever they needed it, but as for my wife …


Shake Light 40B, by The Novice

The EcoCentricNow Shake Light 40B is a human-powered flashlight. It is fairly reasonably priced, reasonably water resistant, reasonably shock resistant, and reasonably heat resistant. It is charged by a powerful magnet that presents a danger to sensitive equipment, so I do not recommend it for field use or as a children’s toy. I think it could be useful for applications like tornado preparedness kits or as a nightstand flashlight. The Back Story I recently submitted an article to SurvivalBlog that included a review of the IKEA Ljusa hand crank flashlight. The beauty of the Ljusa is that the hand crank …


Quality Products for Prepping, by 3AD Scout

Having to stop in the middle of a project to go to the hardware store for something is extremely annoying to me.  For one it wastes time; two it is an insulting indication that I have a hole in my preps.  Post-TEOTWAWKI, going to the hardware store, or any other store for something you forgot will probably not be an option. Having stuff on hand in my stores for any project is important to me as a gauge for my level of preparedness.  Recently, while building stalls and pens inside my barn, I was enlightened to another annoying lesson, that quality is sometimes …


Consider a Shotgun as a Gift, by AJS

My shotgun and I have been together a long time. I received it for my twelfth birthday about 70 years ago. I was raised in a farming community. It was expected that a young man would contribute to the food supply whenever possible. My family considered a shotgun to be a piece of precision farm equipment that you used to get food. When I lived with my grandfather on his small farm in rural Midwest he positioned a firearm at each downstairs window. When we looked out in the morning if there was a critter poaching from our garden we …


Our Trying Modern Times – Part 2, by Steve Vandiver

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) “Firearms stand next to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence… The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that is good.” (Often spuriously attributed to George Washington). Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership report that Tyrannical governments always disarm their victim citizens. Disarmament happened in Turkey, the Soviet Union, in the German Weimar Republic, in Communist China, in Uganda, in Cambodia and in too many other lands. Genocide so often followed disarmament during …


Our Trying Modern Times – Part 1, by Steve Vandiver

Editor’s Introductory Note: Reader Pam B. wrote to mention that the author has just recently been reported to have passed away. At l;east that is what I’m assuming, since his obituary matches several things he referenced in the article. If so, then we have lost a great patriot. Our condolences to his family. “You are blind like us. Your hurt no man designed, And no man claimed the conquest of your land. But gropers both through fields of thought confined We stumble and we do not understand. You only saw your future bigly planned, And we, the tapering paths of …


Ruger American Ranch Rifle in 7.62×39, by The Novice

I recently tested the Ruger American Ranch Rifle, chambered in 7.62×39. I found it to be suprisingly accurate while shooting inexpensive steel-cased ammo. The only major change I recommend for the design is to make it available with an AK-compatible magazine well. The Ammo Backstory In the early summer, I contacted Ruger to see if I could borrow one of their American Ranch Rifles chambered in 7.62×39 for testing and evaluation. I was interested in the rifle for several reasons. Firstly, the 7.62×39 cartridge produces less recoil than many other calibers suitable for taking deer-sized game. That would make it …