Category: Field Gear

Letter: Survival Anxiety

Mr. Hugh, I have a response for those who are having an anxiety attack over what R.W. said about his method of taking down a compound. The answer is that I have been planning for people like this. About a year ago I bought material and built a new compound fence. This fence is made of cattle panels that are supported by 8 foot long 4×6″ posts and 4×4″ posts set 24″ deep in clay on 8′ centers. The 4×6 posts are where the cattle panels join each other. The panels are nailed to the posts on the outside with …


Mike’s Product Review: Roschworks SLM1 combination front sight and light mount

For those of us with AR type rifles or those with similar sights, this is a useful piece of kit. One of the issues with a tactical rifle can be the light mount. Should it be under, to one side, and where should the switch be mounted? How will it work when shooting over or beside a barricade? Roschworks’ SLM1 (Picture of the SLM1) avoids all this by mounting the light directly over the barrel, with an iron sight above it. The unit is milled from one piece of 7075T6 aluminum, and mounts solidly to a standard rail. The profile …


Letter Re: Insta Fire

Scot, Great review on the Insta fire product.I just ordered some and will test and report back. Thank you. I’d also like to comment on the Dakota fire hole you discussed. We were told by our SFQC survival course instructors that the hole was used by the Dakota Plains Indians, as the terrain is flat and windy, and needed a way to get a fire going, and keep the smoke signature down. I do not know if that is true or not, but I do know for a fact that it was taught to us, and we used it quite …


Some Notes on Remaining Humble, by Marine in Missouri

One of the many great lessons I have read over and over in this blog is that practice makes perfect. This can apply to any skill set one wishes to consider. I would like to stress the word “read” in the last sentence; reading does not equate to learning, and often in our human hubris we decide that if we think about it, we know it. I think one of the most potent sins the father of lies enjoys tempting us with is the sin of pride. Without going on a diatribe of theological concepts on pride (and I’ve heard …


Three Letters Re: Mosin Nagent Review

Jim, I agree with most of the author’s conclusions regarding the 91/30. It is rugged, dependable, and more than accurate enough for hunting or social purposes. Most will benefit from a thorough cleaning and judicious use of lapping compound on the bearing and camming surfaces of the bolt assembly. (Be careful to completely remove all of the compound and clean and lubricate appropriately following the lapping procedure.) Inspect the barrel crown and recrown if damage is found. The trigger design is simple and straightforward and can be cleaned up in most examples. Pay particular attention that the trigger components do …


Communications for When SHTF, by N.M.

Communications is a key element in our everyday lives. If you don’t believe me, try going a whole day with no cell phone, Internet, television, or any other means of communications (COMMS). So it stands to reason that having COMMS, when SHTF, is essential to gaining intelligence (COMINT), the safety and security of your family, keeping informed, and keeping at least one step ahead of anybody with bad intentions. Like any skill, it is essential to practice; that means practicing before SHTF, so that you have the necessary skills. While most of the communications methods discussed in this article are …


The Mindset and Experience of a Single Competent Female Prepper, by Skylar

For the majority of my adult life– 34 years– I have taught, lived, worked, and recreated in wilderness settings. I appreciated JMS’s call for articles from single female preppers, as it has been a frustration of mine for many years. My early years were spent trying to prove that women can be effective and competent in a survival setting without having to become “one of the guys” or Rambo-esque. It took me a couple of tries before I found an organization to work for that shared this view. I spent the next 10 years working for Outward Bound, and I …


Three Letters Re: Covert Communications

Dear Hugh: Regarding the captioned article posted 23 September 2014, I call your attention to the following quote, pulled from near the middle of the second paragraph: “These radios do have ‘Privacy Codes’, but anyone can switch around until they find the code you are on, as they all use the same codes and scanners will hear them, coded or not. Switching codes every hour or time you decide will help not being discovered by other FRS/GMRS radio users, but others will scan the codes. It may help but will get you found if others find which code channel you …


Covert Communications, by J.K.

When it all hits the wall, one thing you should be sure of is that someone is listening to every communication you make within reception range. Many will use scanners to try and find you or your group. If they hear radio activity, especially activity on the short-range radios, they will know you are near. Some will use direction-finding antennas to get your exact location. The idea with radio comms is to use the least power and radio with the least range that will get you reliable comms. If all has gone south, you will want to use radio only …


Letter Re: Sharp-Shoot-R Products

I was truly amazed by the work Scott put into cleaning his firearms! I shoot a fair amount of hard cast lead bullets for plinking and target shooting but keep velocities under 1600 fps, and above that I use jacketed bullets, which seems to simplify my cleaning. One patch lightly gun oiled up and down the barrel three times, then I follow that with a dry patch up and down the barrel three times. Take a lightly oiled scrap of cloth and wipe down the outside of the firearm, then the bolt face and moving parts. If the firearm is …


An Emergency Frequencies List

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The following frequency list is part of a blog post from Graywolf Survival. 34.90: Used nationwide by the National Guard during emergencies. 39.46: Used for inter-department emergency communications by local and state police forces. 47.42: Used across the United States by the Red Cross for relief operations. 52.525: Calling frequency used by ham radio operators in FM on their six-meter band. 121.50: International aeronautical emergency frequency. 138.225: Disaster relief operations channel used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; it is active during earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other catastrophic events. 146.52: Used by ham radio operators for non-repeater communications on the …


Scot’s Product Review: Mosin-Nagant M91/30

A reader suggested that I take a look at lower cost firearms, particularly military surplus ones, and I thought it was a great idea. The one he told me that would make a good start is the Russian Mosin-Nagant, which is currently the easiest to find and cheapest surplus rifle on the market. It is chambered in a .30 caliber round, 7.62x54R, and there are a lot of them available at the moment coming from old war reserves in Russia and Ukraine. They were refurbished and put in storage when replaced by more modern arms. Russia and Ukraine are both …


Letter: Starched Military Camouflage Uniforms

Good morning, Hugh, I read your Thurs 9/18 post on using camo clothing that’s never been starched; how does one tell if a garment has ever been starched? I supposed this may apply to all garments, not just camo. (I reference the common military phrase “breaking starch” on utilities laundered by base personnel.) Is there a way to purge the starch, to make sure it’s not affecting IR detection, since it may be difficult to tell if a particular garment has ever been starched? Or, does starch affect fabric fibers in such a way that the IR susceptibility cannot be …


Challenge of Prepping, by R.W.

How My Insights Have Changed With Time I became interested in prepping and survival 12 years ago. It wasn’t so much an event or reading about survival, it was what I believe was a message from God. I was 49 years old and had just finished leading a Bible study in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the way home, my wife and I stopped at a Dairy Queen for our usual weekend treat. It was a beautiful, summer day with lots of white summer clouds floating by. As we finished and were sitting there enjoying the beautiful downtown skyline …


Letter Re: Time Out

Hugh, The author discourages Seiko watches, although I have found them to be one of the best watches I have ever purchased. It is an auto wind and needs adjusting once every several months, which is usually when it gets 10 minutes fast and I just turn it back. My Seiko 5 mechanical watch has been diving, truck driving, shooting, and taken all sorts of abuse. I bought my first one in Sharjah UAE on my way to Iraq. It served me well through the war, from Baghdad to Djibouti, to Manila, to China and all over. Finally, it started …