Category: Hunting and Trapping

Letter Re: The Potential Combat Effectiveness of Shotguns

Jim, There is a fairly heated discussion going on at the FALFiles Forums about how useful a shotgun is in a Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) situation. I was curious, what exactly is your take on the issue? Personally, I do not feel a shotgun can effectively replace a rifle, however, it still proves an effective tool when the extreme-close situation arises. I suppose one can distill this argument down to only “defensive purpose” shotguns such as those built for tactical situations (3″ chambers and open/cylinder choke), those you aptly refer to as “riotguns”. While the effectiveness of a shotgun …


Safe Food Handling, by B.H. in Western Washington

Safe food handling is critical for a healthy life in both good and bad times. As a former restaurant manager, I can tell you food safety or customer safety was priority number one. It’s hard to make money when you’ve killed your customers, which is the alternative to safe food handling. Death or severe illness is the unforgiving consequence to food borne illness. Food borne illnesses doesn’t just happen in restaurants it happens everywhere food is handled and prepared whether it’s during decadent affluence or full scale TEOTWAWKI. Please don’t confuse food poisoning with food borne illnesses. Chemicals, bacteria, or …


Letter Re: The Importance of Acquiring and Learning to Use Traditional Tools

Jim, For those readers that have livestock they need to prepare for the day when hydrocarbon fuel may not be available for tractors. I would suggest a buck rake and a pull-behind sickle mower that a horse could pull. It beats cutting hay by hand. These items can often be picked up at farm and ranch auctions. Enough hay can be put up for a few cows, horses and sheep for the winter months when snow may cover grazing ground. I would recommend a treadle sewing machine. Clothes will need to be mended and taken care of until society gets …


Family Learning for Preparedness, by T.D.

My husband and I are like minded, (he realized way before I did), and he and I didn’t meet until I was in my mid-thirties. I was considered weird, called a tomboy and later, a gear head. Don’t get me wrong, I cook, sew, knit and crochet. I had many interests though and wanted to learn. What I have seen lately and in some people we met that are like minded, is the lack of initiative on the part of some spouses. I have seen some women and men that will ridicule their spouses or will just roll their eyes …


Letter Re: Choosing a State for Relocation

James, To follow up on Mike Williamson’s recent letter on choosing a state for relocation, the April 2008 issue of Outdoor Life magazine has a good article on the best 200 towns in the U.S. for hunters and fishermen. The towns were rated for: Abundant Fishable Species Abundant Huntable Species Public Land Proximity (This may or may not be a good thing, IMHO.) Trophy Potential Gun Laws From 1 to 10, the top 10 towns rated were: Mountain Home, Arkansas Lewsiton, Idaho Sheridan, Wyoming Cody, Wyoming Pocatello, Idaho Lewistown, Montana Marquette, Michigan Dillon, Montana Page, Arizona Bismark, North Dakota They …


Letter Re: Observations on Chest Freezer Efficiency

Hi Jim, I was reading Monday’s letter regarding “Sizing a Retreat AC Power Generator”, and a thought came to mind when the author mentioned super-insulating a freezer for extended cooling durations. There are basically 2 types of freezer; the upright and the box, (what we call around here, the “coffin” freezer). Given the same basic amount of insulation included with each type, to the point where both manage the loss of cooling at the same rate, the “coffin” appears to be more efficient during access. Cold air sinks. When the door of an upright freezer is opened, the cold air …


Letter Re: Self-Sufficiency–How Do We Do It All?

Dear Memsahib and Jim, I am a daily SurvivalBlog reader and contributor, along with my husband. I am very interested in learning more how Memsahib and other retreat women manage to do all that they do. How does a day or week in your life go? How do you can, bake, cook, shear, spin, weave, knit, sew, teach, et cetera and get it all done? We are moving to our retreat soon. I have baked, cooked, knit, learned to spin and weave, and have canned in the past, but not all at once. I forgot to mention clean, wash, take …


Two Letters Re: Thoughts on Overseas Retreat Destinations

Mr. Rawles, In looking through your great web site I can’t tell if you’ve ever addressed the issue of having a non-US retreat. There are some notable characteristics of the USA that make it a less then optimal location in a TEOTWAWKI type scenario. I think specifically of very heavy reliance on personal vehicles and fossil fuels, a general ignorance about growing food, preserving food, raising livestock. There is a tremendous demographic heterogeneity (“diversity”) that in a crisis situation would become a very sore spot and possibly a source of violence. Also a Federal government that has shown an inclination …


From the SurvivalBlog Archives: Start With a “List of Lists”

Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living in the Rockies. As …


Sources for Free Survival and Preparedness Information on the Internet, by K.L. in Alaska

Recent comments in SurvivalBlog provided excellent advice on using the public library. You can gain lots of knowledge with no expense, then purchase only those books you want to keep on hand for personal reference. Also, many colleges and universities loan to local residents, so you can use them too, even if you aren’t a student. If your local libraries participate, a great resource is Worldcat. It lets you search for books from home, then go check them out, or get them through interlibrary loan. What will happen to the Internet when the SHTF? There’s no guarantee it will survive. …


Letter Re: Comments on the Movie “I Am Legend”

JWR, My wife and I saw “I Am Legend” last night at the local theatre. The movie house was packed. Almost every seat was filled. Of the most interest was the end. As the movie faded to black and credits rolled, there were more than several spontaneous bursts of applause throughout the audience and a few cheers. Wow! The last movie that I remember ever getting applause was the last “Star Wars” installment. Something really hit deep with many in the audience… My wife was weird’ed out by the zombies though, as they were quite scary. So viewer beware. As …


Coping With Inflation–Some Strategies for Investing, Bartering, Dickering, and Survival

Statistics released by the Federal government claim that the current inflation rate is 4.3 percent. That is utter hogwash. Their statistics cunningly omit “volatile” food and energy prices. The statisticians admit that energy costs rose by more than 21% since last December. They also admit that Finished Goods rose 7.2%, and “Materials for Manufacturing” rose a whopping 42% , with a 8.7% jump in just the month of November. When commodities rise this quickly, it is apparent that something is seriously out of whack. Meanwhile, the buying power of the US Dollar is falling versus most other currencies. Not surprisingly, …


Letter Re: Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget

Mr Rawles, Having read your reply to S.’s letter “Preparedness on a Very Tight Budget” I must say you made my day! It made me realize that I am much better off than I thought and on the right track. I am one of those weird (smart?) people who was raised in the city, but for some reason, never belonged. From earliest childhood, I was always “preparing” long before I really knew what for. In other words, I was not your typical “raised in captivity” child. I learned to sew at nine, and spent a lot of time making sleeping …


Letter Re: Show Caution When Dispensing Charity

Jim, I read the letter posted about showing caution when dispensing charity. I like the “give ’til it hurts” philosophy from “Patriots” a lot. I have had some training on handling displaced refugees/evacuees/displaced persons which I hope could benefit some readers. I would strongly suggest dividing charity into two distinct areas; charity to neighbors (fixed location) and charity to refugees (mobile). The main purpose of giving aid to refugees is to enable them to keep moving along. Give them water and (if you can spare it) food that they can prepare later when they stop for the night and anything …


Letter Re: Advice on Dog Breeds for Retreat Security?

Jim, Do you have any thoughts about survival dogs, no, not for dinner. My dog alerts me if anything approaches the cabin, which is generally bears, and sometimes a charging Saber toothed, bushy-tailed, ground squirrel, a wayward mink or martin. To the point, what about the value of hunting dogs, or breeds that will charge into the dark of night to scurry away unwelcome visitors. My homeowners insurance is high enough, so I can rule out some of the more aggressive breeds. Thanks, – D.V. JWR Replies: I have observed that there are as many opinions about “ideal” dog breeds …