Category: Contest

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, …


Home Canning Water-Level Measuring Sticks, by St. Funogas

This is the third in a series of home canning articles dedicated to ways of making your home canning experience easier, quicker, more efficient, and less stressful. My hope is that they’ll add something new to the mix by offering some canning techniques which many home canners may not be aware of. My first two articles in the series were: Uncommon Canning Techniques Canning Tomato Sauce, a New Twist Canner Water-Level Conundrum One of the big frustrations for beginning home canners, and for many veterans as well, is trying to figure out exactly how much water to boil in the …


Apple Tree Care 102: Thinning Fruit, by T.S., Ph.D.

When I see clusters of apple trees in box store parking lots, I wonder how many of them will actually become productive. The trees are usually clones of great varieties, like honey crisp and golden delicious. But for many well-intentioned homeowners, coaxing quality fruit on a consistent annual basis from these trees can be a challenge. This how-to article will describe how to thin fruit to increase reliable apple production. Warning, thinning fruit is very counterintuitive (see Figures 1 and 2). This article will describe cutting seemingly healthy “baby apples” from your tree. But, anyone would agree, one healthy apple is better …


Solar Storms, EMPs, Nukes, and Cyberattacks – Part 3 by Pulse Prepper

Part 3: Cyberattacks Cyberattacks are increasing In May 2021, there was a shutdown of Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest fuel pipelines in the United States. The pipeline transports about 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast, including home heating oil, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The disruption caused major fuel shortages, and President Biden even declared a state of emergency. What was the cause of this crippling shutdown? A cyberattack. The attack began when a hacker group identified as DarkSide accessed the Colonial online network. The attackers stole 100 gigabytes of data within a two-hour window. Following …


Solar Storms, EMPs, Nukes, and Cyberattacks – Part 2 by Pulse Prepper

Part 2: Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons (EMPs) and Nukes How EMPs affect the power grid An Electromatic Pulse (EMP) can be natural, such as a lightning strike or a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), which are both forms of an EMP. However, here we will discuss a man-made EMP, which is accomplished by exploding a nuclear bomb at a high altitude. A nuclear bomb exploded at ground level (or an air burst a few hundred feet from the surface) causes extensive damage within a certain radius. However, the damage is limited to a specific area. The blast radius of the nuclear bomb …


Solar Storms, EMPs, Nukes, and Cyberattacks – Part 1 by Pulse Prepper

Part 1: Solar Storms The Carrington Event In September 1859, Richard Carrington, an amateur astronomer in the London, England area, pointed his telescope towards the sun, using dark filters to protect his eyes. Suddenly, he observed a flash of intense white light from the area of the sunspots. His observation is the earliest record of what we now know is a solar flare. The next day, the charged plasma from that solar storm reached Earth. It lit up the entire northern hemisphere, all the way to Hawaii and Rome, with vivid red, blue, green auroras. There were also reports of …