Category: Contest

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream – Part 1, by J.M.

Ahh, waking up fresh and well-rested in the morning to the soft musical chime of your alarm clock, with the beautiful rays of morning sunshine nudging you to start your day after a restful night’s sleep. Okay, so I may be leaning a bit into the fantasy world, but the reality is that sleeping (and waking up, hopefully) are things that everyone reading this has in common. The other thing that pretty much everyone shares is that we all have problems sleeping occasionally – tossing and turning, getting up at oh-dark-thirty and feeling like we’re walking around in a coma …


A Vehicle to Help Adjust Your Thinking, by R.V.

We bought a travel trailer. Our first trip took us from Georgia to North Dakota and back. The unit is built to handle changing sources of energy and limited sources of energy. It is designed to leave no trace other than tire prints. My primary motivation was to be able to join our family together on outings and make camping easier on my wife. I encourage camping and hiking. God will find you and/or you will find God in the wilderness. Our trailer was built by Grand Design. It is a 30-foot model, without slide-out extensions. (I am disclosing the …


Can the USS America Be Rescued or Will She Founder?, by St. Funogas

Today, in the September 7th in the Snippets column, many of the topics in some of my recent “do-not-publish” essays were covered so I thought I’d share some opinions. I agree with most of the comments and links in today’s Snippets column, as I generally do, but a few I disagree with I hope are worthy of mention, mostly on saving the country from the tyranny which is barreling down on us and becoming obvious even to the oblivious. In V for Vendetta, I love the Guy Fawkes moment at the end, when everything representative of the ruling tyrannical government …


What’s in the Rest of My Bags and Why – Part 2, by D.D. in Arizona

This is the conclusion of a two-part article. Part 1 was posted on August 30th. Main Compartment The part number of my bugout bag — a Direct Action Messenger Bag — is BG-MSGM-CD5. I like the new approach of these bags to line the inside with the loop part of Velcro® and then just stick everything inside at whatever angle and arrangement you prefer. I used three different methods to attach the gear: Vertx makes a thing named the MAK Band – very helpful for the pepper sprays and holding Glock magazines. Self-adhesive strips of hook material on the lighter …


Using Grid-Tied PV Panels as a Starter System – Part 1, by St. Funogas

I enjoyed JWR’s recent article titled A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update. The updated information for 2022 is especially relevant. Who could have guessed we’d be at the point we’ve arrived at so quickly in the past two and a half years? The covid scamdemic and the blowback from the Russian sanctions alone are enough to make anyone realize we’re rapidly approaching Niagara Falls in our little inflatable kayak. Hopefully, the article will inspire some of the fence sitters to hop over to the get-out-of-Dodge side and make their wish come true instead of holding on so dearly to the …


Some .357 Revolver Cartridge Alternatives, by F.B.

In the July 28th edition of SurvivalBlog, my article on reloading previously fired primers and projectiles was published. Wondering if the primers reloaded with Prime-All repriming compound purchased from Sharp Shooter 22 would still fire several weeks after being reloaded, I mixed up another small batch. Important Note: For safety, all batches should be small and eye protection should be worn. If you should decide to try this keep in mind that it could be potentially dangerous, after my experimenting I don’t recommend it. Then a half dozen large pistol primers were loaded with the compound as before. They were …


War Drums Beating Louder: Are You Taking Action? – Part 2 by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) So where to start? Food is one of the main things preppers stockpile. In the case of trying to prepare for a war economy a stockpile of food isn’t a bad idea. However, some of the item that will be hard to get are those that require shipping from far away and/or will be needed to support the troops. Going back to World War Two for an example, it was some basic staples that were in short supply including sugar, gasoline, rubber items, and even shoes. I can grow vegetables and fruit, …


War Drums Beating Louder: Are You Taking Action? – Part 1 by 3AD Scout

After I left active duty, I went to college. Depending upon my schedule, I sometimes found myself with a lot of time in between classes. To pass the time away, I would often go through reels of microfiche of old newspapers. I liked to pick historic events and look at the papers in the weeks and months leading up to those events. When it comes to Wars, there seems to be a common theme, that is “Saber Rattling”. Today, just like the 1930s, we see the media write the same headlines, just with different countries. Russia was “just saber rattling” …


Surviving 21st Century WarGames, by T.S.

I’m willing to bet that the average reader here has seen the 1983 fictional movie that was titled WarGames. In the film, Matthew Broderick’s character inadvertently brings the world to the brink of nuclear war. This all starts with Broderick’s character “war dialing” random phone numbers, looking for dial-up internet modems to connect to. He unwittingly connects to a modem servicing a supercomputer that runs nuclear wargames, while thinking that he’s connected to a computer game company. The situation escalates quickly, but is fortunately resolved without causing World War Three. The movie depicts a mostly harmless teenager just messing around …


Consequences of 87,000 New IRS Employees, by Toby

I have read and watched a lot of commentary on the Inflation Reduction Act (ironically abbreviated IRA) recently signed into law. I was most interested in the $80 billion added to the IRS budget and the addition of 87,000 IRS employees — mostly agents — effectively doubling the number of IRS agents. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made the following statement: “Specifically, I direct that any additional resources – including any new personnel or auditors that are hired – shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to …


Homemade Yogurt as Survival Food – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Cooking Tools The pot and metal bowl form a quick double boiler, it’s not strictly necessary, you could just use the pot. Using the double boiler helps keep you from burning or overheating your milk which can lead to a grainy texture. I find it very easy to keep the temperature where I need it and cleanup is easier with the double boiler setup. If you are using a rocket stove or some other live fire source of heat, the boiling water will keep a steadier heat. I use a metal bowl …


Homemade Yogurt as Survival Food – Part 1, by N.C.

Yogurt isn’t something most of us think about. I love my classic “Back to Basics” book, it’s chock full of things that I say “oh yeah I should try that”, from carpentry to basket weaving to tinsmithing to blacksmithing. I love that book. But the section on making your own yogurt I looked at and said “yeah…no. Why would I ever do that?” Fast forward 5 years and I’ve lost count of how many batches of yogurt I’ve made. Some advantages of yogurt: Yogurt can get around lactose intolerance for some people, It is a form of milk preservation, It …


What’s in the Rest of My Bags and Why – Part 1, by D.D. in Arizona

I suppose this is more of a continuation of the first article link that I submitted to SurvivalBlog and that was posted back in March of 2013: What’s In My 72 Hour Bag (and why). I was surprised to see over 400,000 downloads from my website and I got more than a few e-mailed comments. Some Background: In 2011, I started carrying a 5.11 satchel with a Glock inside since I obtained a CCW permit in Colorado. Over the years that messenger bag turned into an intermediate between my EDC key ring and my 72-hour bag. But recently, while in …


Prepping With Inexpensive .22 Revolvers, by B.F.

I was organizing my gun safes, and realized that I had somehow accumulated five single-action .22 rimfire revolvers. I thought that a short article about them, how accurate or not they are, and whether or not various brands of ammunition make an accuracy difference might be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. To preview the conclusion, yes, if… I’ll start with the latest acquisition first. I was at a gun show earlier this year, not intending to purchase anything, and ran across one of the latest offerings from Heritage Arms. Heritage has been making the Rough Rider .22 single-action revolver in …


Desperate Dining, by Prepared Pamela

EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC ON HOMELESSNESS AND THE HUNGRY Billions of people have been affected by the global coronavirus pandemic. Some are worse off than others, but each of us has been touched by this disaster. Many individuals have been left homeless, barely surviving without adequate shelter or food. Fifty million Americans in the United States go to bed every night hungry. We are all affected by the supply chain issues, lack of provisions and high prices. Unfortunately, 40% of the food produced annually is discarded. Our country throws away tons of viable food that is considered no longer consumable, …