Category: Field Gear

An Emergency Frequencies List

itemprop="discussionURL"1

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 …


Comments on Sharpening, by R.F.

As someone said about shooting, “It’s simple, but it’s not easy.” All you need to do is pick the correct angle for what you’re sharpening and maintain that angle, as you remove material to obtain a cutting edge. This is the case regardless of what you’re working on. The difficulty comes in consistently maintaining the angle chosen. That requires a lot of skill, and it explains the popularity of all the jigs and sharpening systems on the market. If you’re interested in learning to sharpen free hand, practice. The only way you’re going to learn is by doing. It doesn’t …


Scot’s Product Review: Sharp-Shoot-R Products

It was a dark and cluttered place. It was crowded. The children were dirty and uncared for. It looked as if their parents never cleaned them. They were streaked with charcoal. Someone had smeared molten plastic on some of them, while others had strips of lead and copper hanging on them. You could sense their dejection. If only someone would come to my gun safe and clean their barrels! Okay, I’m exaggerating…a little. My usual approach to cleaning guns is to wipe them down with an oily rag and run one or two patches with a cleaner-lubricant-preservative (CLP) product through …


Letter Re: Fishing for Survival

Good morning. I’m an avid Survival Blog reader. I live in bush Alaska and live a largely subsistence life. I read this article with interest and would like to make a couple of suggestions in regards to fishing for survival. In my part of the country, I can legally use a gill net for subsistence purposes. This can either be done as a set net and checked later, or as a drift net, or seine. They are very efficient. Next would be a fish trap. This is a simple device that can be submerged in the water. The fish swim …


Two Letters Re: LEO Medic

Hugh: I just want to say “thank you” to this author for such an excellent series. I agree that they are the finest articles I have ever read on SurvivalBlog. As an office-based physician, I do not have the hands-on field experience that will prove so valuable in the future, and I think most physicians are in the same boat. So thanks so much for taking the time to educate all of us. I will read and re-read your articles, as they will save many lives. Primary Care MD o o o Just wanted to add to B.O.’s comment. I’m …


Letter Re: Time Out

Hugh, I read “Time Out” with interest. I wanted to bring to your attention a high-quality but little known watch brand: Steinhart. It is a German company. Their watches are German engineered with Swiss movements, at a tenth (or twentieth) the price of a Rolex. Many of the Steinhart models are what is known as “Rolex Homage”. A high-quality watch that resembles a Rolex but has the maker’s name and logo. In other words, it’s not a counterfeit Rolex. Steinhart is a highly respected name in their own right. Best Regards, D.B.


We Aren’t All Farmers, Soldiers, or Master Gardeners, by Sootgrinder

I would like to share some of my observations, feelings, and plans for dealing with the current and future difficult times that we face. As I have read and studied the survival plans and strategies of the fine members of the SurvivalBlog community, as well as other sources, I have frequently been overwhelmed and discouraged about my ability to deal with the inevitable trouble that is barreling toward us faster every day. I read the stories of people moving to a fully-stocked and well-equipped retreat with their ex-military buddies, who are also master gardeners, trained medical personnel, and have every …


Scot’s Product Review: Otis Technology Tactical Cleaning System and Ripcord

Otis Technologies is a U.S. firm based in New York State, where they make all of their products. That’s good for them and good for us. The company was founded by Doreen Garrett in 1985 after a bad experience on a hunting trip. She took a fall into some cold mud with her rifle, which wound up with a plugged bore. She wasn’t able to clear it and had a long, wet walk back to their cabin. Making matters worse, it was her grandfather’s Model 94. As she sat warming up, she started thinking about something that could have saved …


Letter Re: Observations of a Shopkeeper

I did not enjoy logging on to Survival Blog this evening and reading about how ignorant we are according to “R.R.” Can’t he just educate their customers about the safe handling and proper cleaning of a firearm. I just can’t imagine why R.R. would continue selling such deadly weapons to us imbeciles. Please publish the name of your shop so we can know never to bother you there again. Thank you ever so much, – D.R. HJL Responds: I think you have missed the concept that R.R. was trying to portray. I was a scoutmaster for 11 years as my …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 5, by a LEO Medic

This is the conclusion of this five-part article, and this section contains information about gear selection, some tips and tricks that I learned along the way, as long as some links to some training videos. Gear Selection I am a huge believer in redundancy. Things break, get dropped, tear, and get lost. When your car is in the shop and you are driving the rental is when you will need the first aid kit you usually keep in the back. Murphy is alive and well. On My Person On my person, pretty much everywhere I go whether on duty or …


Musings of a Law Enforcement Paramedic – Part 4, by LEO Medic

Yesterday, we read about TCCC and the “MARCH” priorities of field care. We’ll continue with this five-part article by focusing, today, on emergency treatment for dogs because many of us will be depending ours after the SHTF. CANINE ALS/TCCC A very interesting aspect of TCCC that we have found is that it has extremely high carry over to the canine world. Two of my squad mates have working law enforcement canines assigned to them. In addition, we utilize many search and rescue dogs, from bloodhounds to labs for various missions and searches. I imagine most of you reading plan on …