Category: Retreat Logistics

Letter Re: Firearms Selection for Times of Ammunition Shortages

Dear JWR, Last spring, with the ammo shortage clearing the shelves everywhere, I found myself in a position to expand my collection.  I decided on a Ruger .44 Magnum Super Blackhawk, with the 7" barrel.  Legal for whitetail in my state, you see.  Having neglected to actually check the retail supply, I assumed that the shortage would be primarily the military calibers (9mm Para, .45 ACP, 5.56mm NATO, .308, and 7.62x39mm) with the civilian calibers being readily available. Experienced wheelgunners are already laughing.  Took me a month to track down 100 rounds of basic .44 Magnum.  Eventually, diligent checking at …


Letter Re: Which Ammo to Stockpile?

Dear Sir, When stockpiling ammo, should one focus on FMJ and soft nose/hollow points or FMJ only?  FMJ is a better value per bullet, plus it’s supposed to be a lot more accurate and reliable than SP/HP, but of course, it sometimes comes at the cost of stopping power. I’m packing a semi-auto in 308/7.62×51, and to my knowledge, there haven’t been many complaints about the stopping power of the 7.62×51 ball cartridge in military circles; many complaints come mainly from the kick and weight.  Add to that the fact that after TEOTWAWKI, shooting through cover and mass fire will …


Still Living in Defiance, by Tim B.

I frequently read about varying doomsday scenarios.  Everything from a total collapse of the economy, to super-storms, to EMP attacks, and lately even dubious writings about life in a post-antibiotic world.  While the odds are not in favor of one devastating event that ends the world as we know it and plunges us into a repeat of the Dark Ages, there is still the possibility that something like a surprise EMP attack or an unexpected asteroid impact could wipe out most of humanity.  There’s always that “What if…?”  Before I go any farther, however, let me offer this strong disclaimer:  …


Learning Prepper and Barter Skills at Your Local Dump, by Neil J.

Everyone these days is trying to budget and spend their hard earned money wisely. One place I found that I was able to spend a very limited amount or get items for free is at the local dump. It is a great place to accumulate items you could use in a SHTF situation. This may relate only to individuals living in suburban or city areas. There may be one in your county; it is important to find out if there is. If you have not been to your local recycle center or dump, you owe it to yourself to check …


How Can Teens Contribute?, by Hannah from Tennessee

Describing how teenagers can contribute to and have the right attitude for family prepping. (Written by a teenager for teenagers.)   As a teenage prepper my top priority is making sure my family and I will survive a natural or man-made disaster, and prepping is how I do that. Prepping is a family affair around my house, each of us have our items or category (medical, food, garden, hunting, etc) that we are responsible for prepping and stocking up and we carry-out that responsibility to the fullest. If one of us doesn’t do our job, in an TEOTWAWKI situation, it …


Letter Re: Storing Whiskey For Barter

Hi Jim, I love SurvivalBlog! I have a question: I would like to store whiskey for bartering in SHTF. I thought of taking empty 187 ML (about 6 oz) wine bottles with screw caps, washing them, refilling with whiskey, placing a short wine cork in top, then screw cap, then wrap in Saran wrap to limit evaporation loss. I would then label bottles with content and date, and store for SHTF. How does this sound to you? Thanks, – Tom R. JWR Replies: While I don’t approve of bartering whiskey, I must concede that many folks do see some utility …


The Cycle of Prepping: One Man’s Approach, by Steve in Wisconsin

Although I’m sure far wiser people than I have said it before, I certainly subscribe to the notion that prepping is a road, not a destination.  In other words, although the pace may vary, I’m continually prepping and always will be.  Possible exceptions to this rule, to one degree or another, are the folks who have the means to simply take one of the “list of lists” available and write a big check to cover virtually all of their needs, but even that will require some ongoing maintenance.  I am certainly not in that camp and I think it’s clear …


Letter Re: Jewish Resistance During WWII

James, Your mention of Zus Bielski’s birthday and the film Defiance. (and the book upon which it is based) brought to mind an excellent 90-minute documentary by PBS, “Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans,” produced in 2001. It is available online at Vimeo.  (or from PBS Home Video on DVD) It includes interviews with many partisans among them Aron Bielski, the youngest of the brothers (still living). After more than half a century since the holocaust, the myth still persists that all of the Jews just walked peacefully to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis.  Nothing could be …


Letter Re: Gluten Free Foods at COSTCO

Dear Mr. Rawles, I follow you via RSS and have purchases your past archives from Amazon. Following the advice in your blog, I just got done on COSTCO.com purchasing some gluten free meal kits. I find it amazing they have these for people with food allergies and yet at rock bottom prices (even with the non-member surcharge.) I will sleep much better at night for my wife, 17 month old daughter and myself. God Bless you and thank you for your wealth of resources! Thanks! – Andy P. JWR Replies: As I highlighted in the Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness …


The Importance of Prepping Together, by F.G.

As I imagine many of the readers on this site, I once found myself somewhat isolated in my prepping, embarrassed to let on to how I felt, why I prep, et cetera . My family is very close, very involved in each others lives, and I couldn’t imagine or want it any different. My entry into this contest will be an explanatory background on myself and my preps, followed by a realistic guideline on how to “save the ones that matter” to you; or at least, my means of doing so. I am a young, 30 year old father of …


Letter Re: Recommending Todd Savage of Survival Retreat Consulting

Hello Mr. Rawles, Just a note of thanks to you and your site for leading me to Todd Savage at Survival Retreat Consulting (SRC.) I read your novel Patriots and that gave me the incentive I needed to pursue a retreat for my family.  I researched the means available to obtain my retreat and that included SRC’s ad on your SurvivalBlog.com site.  I was impressed with Todd’s well thought out process and the advantage that his own experience in making the journey with his own family brought to the process.  With your recommendation as a tail wind, I hired Todd and …


Two Letters Re: Prioritized Prepping

Jim: I couldn’t agree more with the article written by T.Z. regarding prioritized prepping. Many of us lack the needed organization and discipline to distribute our prepping budget evenly between the different survival categories and instead succumb to impulse buys – more ammo, more guns, more dried food, more camping gear. While stocking up on non-perishable supplies that will always have some use may seem like a good idea, what good are 50,000 rounds of ammo if your only water filter just broke, or you ran out of oil for your two-stroke chain saw? My way of managing these impulse …


Prioritized Prepping, by Z.T.

I, like so many people across the country, can’t walk out of my local sporting goods store without buying the limit of ammunition. Now, before you judge me, realize that most places limit you to small boxes of ammunition, and usually one two per caliber. Is it being prudent or just being obsessed? While the firearm and ammo situation is very much a media-hyped thing,  I have even talked about things you must buy every time you are out, like my article on Things Commonly Overlooked.  But what about those items that you pick up, look at the price tag, but pass …


How to Budget for TEOTWAWKI, by Louie in Ohio

Prepping is never far from my mind. A few months ago I was talking with a friend and the subject of TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We know It) came up. Tom (not his real name) said that he would like to prepare for upcoming emergencies but didn’t know where to start. The answer was simple; start where you are. Obviously most people cannot start with a full larder and weapons/ammunition cache. That is of course, unless you really do have all of that, in that case…well, that’s where you are. I asked Tom what scenarios he wanted …


The Family SHTF Operations Manual, by Col. H.

SurvivalBlog provides a wealth of prep-related information. Many here cut and paste critical essays to store as Word documents for safekeeping and later access when crisis times call for it. I suggest going one step further. Build a structured notebook of your family’s prep information, with each topic index tabbed for easy access and available for all family-tribe members to consult when the need arrives. Let this notebook become your family’s SHTF collapse response manual, your SOP for surviving a collapse. People panic and make fatal errors under crisis when they do not have enough information and do not know …