Category: Reader-Written Contributed Article

A Beginner’s Handgun Journey, Part 1 by The Novice

About three years ago, I decided to buy a handgun. Rifles and shotguns are useful tools in many situations, but in some situations a handgun works best. The decision to buy a handgun led me on journey of discovery. The things I learned may be useful to those who are beginning a similar journey. They may also be entertaining to those who are already farther along the way. The Hi-Point C9 As I evaluated various handgun calibers, I decided that 9mm would best meet my needs. The round is powerful enough for self-defense, reasonably priced, and readily available. Out of …


Including Old Books in Your Preps, Part 4, by Marica Bernstein

(Continued from Part 3. This part concludes the series.) Now What? Refer to the photo at the right side of this paragraph. First, step back and take in a whole section to spot collections such as the nine-volume The Scribner Radio Music Libraryxiii (1946) collection of sheet music. Look for extremely thick old books. These are single volume encyclopedias of facts, histories, “what everyone should know” books published until they became obsolete thanks to the Internet. The large, thick book at the far left is Familiar Quotations: A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient …


Including Old Books in Your Preps, Part 3, by Marica Bernstein

(Continued from Part 2.) Now, I’d like to address the who, what, when, where, why, and how of building a prepper library of old books. First… WHO? You. A prepper or survivalist who is convinced that your shelter-in-place needs a library of old books preserving Western Culture, but who don’t know how to begin. What? Books serving as ornaments, tools, and friends now, and especially when the lights go out, my term for everything from short- and long-term power outages, to TEOTWAWKI; “hard times” as JWR calls them. What is an “old” book? In this context, old does not necessarily …


Including Old Books in Your Preps, Part 2, by Marica Bernstein

(Continued from Part 1.) As I mentioned, there are other categories of books-as-tools. Reference books– dictionaries, encyclopedias, foreign language dictionaries, books of mathematical tables– are among them (and are some of my favorites). With respect to dictionaries and encyclopedias, I recommend ones from various points in time. Word meanings change. For example, in Webster’s Elementary-School Dictionaryiv (1925) the first definition of ‘mend’ is “to free from flaws or defects—as in to mend one’s manners or ways; to correct; as to mend a fault; also, to repair; to put in shape again; as, to mend clothes, shoes.” Note that the emphasis …


Including Old Books in Your Preps, Part 1, by Marica Bernstein

My aim in this essay is to convince you of the worth of building a home library consisting mainly of old books. I will not suggest that you pack a set of Encyclopǣdia Britannicas in your bug-out-bag. I’m addressing those of you who are, or hope to be, hunkered down in your homes when the lights go out. Throughout, I’ll be making the same assumption that JWR makes: “Survival is not just about guns, groceries and gadgets.” To my mind is it also very much about preserving Western Culture– the values, traditions, mores, histories, and even anecdotes and funny pages …


My Toolbag, by P.G.

One of mankind’s distinctives from the animal world is in our use of tools. While other creatures may make use of twigs to fish insects out of cavities, or crack shellfish by banging them with stones, only man has exercised his mind and used tools to make so many things possible. The history of tool making is a fascinating study in itself, as our parents have progressed from the simple to the complex. Today it’s quite possible for a person of modest means to have a hobby woodshop or machine shop with astonishing capabilities. But what about most of us …


Hobbies Can Make You a Better Prepper, by Dan Vale

Preppers are blessed if their family members take prepping as seriously as they themselves do. The children in a prepper family, however, may not be as easily convinced of the need for the prepping lifestyle as will the older generations. These seniors have lived long enough to have encountered natural disasters such as tornadoes and man-made disasters such as the Great Depression and the Great Recession of 2008. If this naivete is a problem, however, all is not lost. “Stealth prepping” through fun hobbies is one way to prepare young, naive children for emergencies. By encouraging your family members to …


Colonial Era Technology, by B.

I have always loved history. A large part of my fascination with history I believe I can thank my parents for. From an early age I was able to visit historical sites and locations that brought these descriptions of great battles, events, and people into a real-world context that made them seem to come alive. Re-enacting and research into the lives of people piggybacked on my history interest and allowed for a much greater insight into what it meant to live or experience certain eras and events. Later on in my life I began branching out into the preparedness community …


Family Medical Preps – Part 2, by Doctor Dan

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Stockpile Medical Supplies: Basic Household First Aid Kits: These are essential for treating the very minor/nuisance injuries one encounters in their daily lives. This is not as comprehensive as any prepper should have on hand, but its low cost is a starter towards having some medical supplies on hand. Many of the items could prevent worse problems, such as Neosporin preventing a life-threatening infection in a TEOTWAWKI situation. (These kits can be obtained at virtually any retailer for under $20.) More Comprehensive First Aid Kits: Useful for someone with slightly more advanced …


Family Medical Preps – Part 1, by Doctor Dan

As Americans, we live in a time of relative peace and prosperity and are blessed to enjoy the most advanced healthcare system in history. Yet, as good as we have things now, we do not know what the future may bring. How can we find better health now, prepare for medical emergencies we may encounter in daily events, and also prepare for an uncertain future where medical resources may be limited or completely absent? The latter is commonly called a When The Schumer Hits The Fan (WTSHTF) scenario. Here are a few suggestions from a practicing physician: Preventative Health: Prevention …


Storing Meat, by Pete Thorsen

While some people are vegetarians and get by just fine, I feel that is not the normal eating habits of humans. Humans are omnivores who are designed to eat both meat and plants. Most preppers have the plant part down with growing their own vegetable gardens, foraging wild plants in their area, or a combination of those two. Meat is a more difficult food item for many preppers. Edible plants and sprouts can be grown even in an apartment or a small outdoor space. But growing meat in a small space is more difficult, but perhaps not impossible. Fish are …


A Primitive Tool For Modern Preppers, Part 2, by Rusty M.

(Continued from Part 2.  This concludes the article.) Around the 1630s, somebody in Europe (I’ve seen it credited to Germans, Austrians, French,…) invented the most widely used ignition system prior to the development of cartridges as we view them now. The flintlock dominated the world of guns from the mid 1600s through the Texas Revolution. This mechanism was what fought in the Seven Years’ War (commonly known as the French and Indian War), won our independence in the Revolution, fought the British again during the War of 1812, was used innumerable times in skirmishes and for feeding families, and stood …


A Primitive Tool For Modern Preppers, Part 1, by Rusty M.

I inhale deeply and hold, squeezing the rear trigger. Tic. Then I slowly exhale and gently touch the forward trigger. Tiff-FOOM. A cloud of smoke obscures my vision but I can hear the ball cut through my intended victim. What’’d I get? A buffalo? A “grizzly bear?” A Redcoat? No, just a cardboard box. I see that I am becoming more accurate with this gun. Firearms and their accompanying accessories have evolved a long way from their origins; a long way. But that doesn’’t mean we should relegate old technology to the archives or the bone yards. At least not …


Viable Eastern Retreats, by H.A.

One of the prime considerations of anyone interested in preparing for a serious man-caused or natural disaster in the near future, is the matter of geography. James Rawles coined the concept of the American Redoubt, giving name and definition to an area widely-held to be ideal survival terrain. This area by one of its own main core criteria, is very low population density. But the majority of American people attempting to prepare are not in the American Redoubt. It is difficult for economic and other considerations to uproot and relocate there. More power to anyone seriously considering relocating to the …


TEOTWAWKI: Thoughts on Wild Game Populations by Pete Thorsen

Anyone that ever visits a prepper website or has ever heard a prepper conversation has certainly heard that after any TEOTWAWKI societal collapse event that all wild game populations will drop to near zero immediately. While this might be true in a few locations, overall I just don’t think it will happen–at least not over any large area of our country. While statements on either side of this debate are pure conjecture we can look at some facts that back up the guesses on one side or the other. The first obvious thing we should do is look at the …