Category: Contest

Home Repair of Pre-1899 Guns – Part 3, by SwampFox

4

(Continued from Part 2. This part concludes the series.) Pre-1899 Shotguns Shotguns from the late 1800s cartridge era are typically of a break-open design. There were pump action and lever action shotguns available such as those produced by Winchester, but they often command a high price. Old farm guns are easy to obtain and simple to work on. Often available online for under $300 or even as little as $100, they can be shipped to your door. Almost every hardware store in rural areas would have carried shotguns, and some even had their own locally produced models. This can make …


Home Repair of Pre-1899 Guns – Part 2, by SwampFox

1

(Continued from Part 1) When other parts on revolvers break, fixing them can be a hassle. If a bolt or a hand breaks, you will need to be an expert at welding, brazing, filing, and fitting if you cannot find a replacement. Even if you do find a replacement, be prepared to hand fit the part, as quality control today is greater than it was back then. Fitting a hand precisely is essential! The length of the hand determines how far a cylinder rotates, and how the chambers align with the barrel. Misalignment can cause poor accuracy, or can become …


Home Repair of Pre-1899 Guns – Part 1, by SwampFox

8

Introduction As regulations increase in the United States, it is possible that the only firearms that will be legal to transfer in the future without a background check will be those manufactured before 1899. These firearms are Federally exempt from the NICS background check process, and are likely to increase in value in the event that “universal background check” legislation is passed. For those who already own pre-1899 guns, or would like to acquire them, there is an unpleasant reality to their ownership: Some parts are fragile and are difficult to obtain! A broken, worn, or out-of-spec part can cause …


Your Firearms Safety Hunter Education Certificate, by LiberT.Y.

25

Why Everyone Should Have a Firearms Safety Hunter Education Certificate Hello everyone. I’m 13 years old and I live in Minnesota (I know it’s not the best state, but I’m 13 so I don’t have a lot of options). I know other minors read Survival Blog too and this is mostly written to you but hopefully adults will like it too. I would first like to say that I am not a lawyer so double check all laws mentioned and cited here. I only have experience with the Minnesota program I attended, and any quotations by instructors contained in this …


Control Your Type 2 Diabetes or Die in TEOTWAWKI, by Scott M.

49

I am a family physician and I have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is where you initially have enough insulin produced by your body but are resistant to the insulin, i.e.:  you don’t have enough receptors for the insulin to plug into to act on the sugar/carbohydrates you ingest. As time goes on if you don’t manage your diabetes your body will stop producing insulin and you will need to be on insulin shots for the rest of your life. Type 1 diabetes is where you don’t produce any or very limited insulin and have to be on insulin for your lifetime. …


A Greenhouse for Your Homestead, by Ozark Redneck

8

“Breathe in. The air is rich, humid, fragrant and full of life, warm on your face. It’s comfortable. What is it about a greenhouse or sunspace that feels good to almost everyone? It’s more than just stimulation of the senses. It goes deeper, further back. The tropics were the womb of human life, and the greenhouse is a connection to our origins.” – Shane Smith, in Greenhouse Gardener’s Companion Having a greenhouse can extend your growing season, allow you to start plants earlier and perhaps allow you to grow food that couldn’t survive in your outdoor garden. We started our …


From the Deep South to Northern Rockies: Pt. 3, by GritsInMontana

27

(Continued from Part 2. This installment concludes the series.) The Homestead We ultimately settled on a home with some acreage. The hilarity ensued as we moved farm animals (cue the Benny Hill music), hay, our combined supply of preps, furnishing, farm equipment, and other items. The move took weeks…literally weeks. We fell into bed each night, exhausted and cranky. As much fun as all this sounds, our regular full-time jobs and household chores continued. By the time the last load was hauled, we had injured backs, knees, and ankles… And the work was just beginning. Fortunately, the skills I learned …


From the Deep South to Northern Rockies: Pt. 2, by GritsInMontana

24

(Continued from Part 1.) Critters Goats: My neighbors decided to be “goat foster parents” for the summer. (“It will be a great experience for the children!”, they said.) The plan was to return the goats to the rightful owners when September rolled around. My response was “That owner is probably three states away by now….” Sure enough, as fall approached, the owner was nowhere to be found and my neighbors now had to figure out what to do with their foster-goat-situation for the winter. You see, getting rid of a goat will almost always require some level of treachery and …


From the Deep South to Northern Rockies: Pt. 1, by GritsInMontana

13

Redoubt Relocation – From the Deep South to Northern Rockies: A Move to Self-Sufficiency Gentle Reader, the purpose of this article is to share with you my first-hand experience of moving my family from a balmy Southern locale to a small mountain town in the Redoubt. I believe many of my homesteading experiences, regarding everything from critters to cabbage, may provide practical and helpful insight to anyone envisioning a new life in the Northern Rockies. For those slow-talking, sweet-tea-sippin’ Southerners who may be contemplating such a move, I have also included some of the learning curve I encountered regarding cold …


It is Time to Build Several ARs, by D.B.

41

I believe that it is time to build several AR-15s. There are many reasons why. These include: You will soon need them. Prices are down, due to the Trump Slump in firearms sales. A reasonable cost for an AR equates to $600 today.  This is definitely a “low point” in pricing and hence the ideal time to buy or build. Your family is not building them, so you should. The government doesn’t want you to build them. (Read: The threat of upcoming legislation.) It will help you to better understand how the firearm runs. Building your own is just fun. …


Scavenging and the Law, by JRRT

20

There’s a lot to criticize about survival-themed movies, to the point where the only value most of them have is just to get all of us thinking about “what if,” and to entertain us in the process. But the trope that bothers me more than any other is the portrayal of scavenging. In survival movies, the heroes find caches of cool stuff, help themselves to fully stocked but deserted grocery stores, and appropriate vehicles. Survival almost looks fun! Who hasn’t fantasized about being able to have free reign to grab whatever they want from store shelves? As enjoyable as it …


Shelter Preparedness, Pt. 2, by Pete Thorsen

10

(Continued from Part 1. This part concludes the article.) Obviously, the best bet is to stay with your vehicle if possible. You can carry a lot of stuff in your vehicle, and the vehicle itself can always be a temporary shelter. You might have to leave your vehicle to be closer to a water supply or for a different reason. Once you are bugging out and away from your residence, you might have to be much more flexible in your thinking. Such as: Your shelter can be anything, depending on the circumstances. If it is hot, maybe all you need …


Shelter Preparedness, Pt. 1, by Pete Thorsen

22

We know to be prepared we need certain things. We need water, food, security, and shelter. This article concerns shelter in a future possible emergency situation. This situation could be anything from a gas leak in your apartment building that requires your evacuation, a wildfire approaching your home, a chemical spill that requires your evacuation, maybe even up a nuclear bomb going off and you are in the fallout drift zone, or maybe it is just civil unrest and you want to stay off the streets for awhile. For many things the best shelter is likely your house or apartment. …


Strangers in a Strange Land: Communication, Pt. 2, by L.C.

21

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS. HUMBLE YOURSELF. We took Danish lessons. It is a very difficult language that has 6 extra vowels that I can’t even hear the differences. After living on our small street for several months, we received an official-looking post card. Using our Danish-to-English dictionary made no sense of the phrases on the card. We had met our neighbors but had not developed friendships. We had learned that all Danes are taught English from 3rd grade onward. If we spoke Danish, they would answer in English. So I humbly …


Strangers in a Strange Land: Communication, Pt. 1, by L.C.

8

HOW TO MEET PEOPLE/MAKE FRIENDS IN A NEW AND FOREIGN AREA After growing up on small farms in Ohio, my husband and I were given the opportunity to live in Denmark for his work. Looking back, that was total culture shock to both of us. Also looking at it now in hindsight, I’ve compiled a plethora of hints with anecdotes, to illustrate. HOPEFULLY, THESE HINTS CAN APPLY TO ALL PEOPLE MOVING INTO A NEW HOME, OR TO A BUG OUT LOCATION. To make this meaningful, perhaps a little more background is necessary. As I mentioned, my husband and I each …