Category: Retreat Security

A Solid Solution On Securing Home Defense During A TEOTWAWKI Situation, by B.M.

Currently, I reside in a suburb about 40 miles outside of Chicago. It’s just far enough in my opinion to escape the madness should the SHTF. Nobody is going to walk 40 miles out of the city to my town. What would they achieve by doing this anyway? In any case, my personal bugout plan is to bug-in should a SHTF scenario develop. I live in a typical small suburban home with neighbors all around me. It is a typical suburban American block. I have thought through many scenarios that may present themselves during times of trouble, whether it’s that …


Two Letters Re: Love Thy Neighbor…Trust No One

HJL: I’ve got the same issue on my one acre in a small town in Georgia. Great soil but with neighbors that think it is theirs. In my case a 45-foot section of board fence drew a line. I continue to fence the corners and plant hedge material when nephew labor is available. Periodic extra tall posts seem decorative now but will make a splendid support for barbed wire. My intent is to make it possible to fence it quickly from stored supplies should misfortune befall us. I hesitate to go ahead and install the fence because the location, while …


Two Letters Re: Love Thy Neighbor…Trust No One

HJL, The writer of this letter is waking up to the unfortunate reality that, thanks to our national leadership or lack thereof, the law only applies to those who adhere to the law. Lawbreakers have been taught by our own government that there are no consequences for breaking the law. On the contrary, lawbreakers are now actually being REWARDED for breaking the law. This will only get worse. As the author of the letter has discovered, we’re going to have our hands full in the coming times. May God be with us all. – Pete H. o o o HJL, …


Head Up, Eyes Open, by Hondo

By way of introduction, I am a retired cop. For my second career, I now ride the train to work daily. After 28 years in my first career, with command responsibilities for training a very large agency’s officers for many years, I have many habits ingrained as second (or FIRST!) nature. These habits are not always useful, until the SHTF. These habits are “cloaked”, because that’s how they work best, until the SHTF. These habits sometimes, even after all these years, baffle my loved ones. My aim here is to share a few things that may be useful, in light …


How to Use Paddle Wire for Survival by Prepper Ray

A couple of weeks ago one of my prepper friends stopped by and said: “Check this out” he hands me a small spool of green wire. I was intrigued, what is it? Trip wire? Snare wire? “It’s both and much more,” he said. After he told me a few of the ways it could be used, it became clear to me that Paddle Wire was the one missing component in my survival gear. If you don’t have a good supply of Paddle wire or never even heard of it, you wouldn’t be alone. Paddle wire is a low-cost 22 to …


The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities, by Patrice Lewis

A common concern among rural people in a grid-down situation is the concept of marauding urbanites swarming through the countryside looting and pillaging — the so-called Golden Horde. I addressed this issue on my blog a few months ago when a reader noted, “You can hide yourself, but not your garden. Are you going to take your beef herd into your house with you? In any long-term crisis situation, your cattle and garden will be indefensible and therefore gone in a matter of months. You cannot protect them from a determined large, armed group.” This reader respectfully listed what he …


Letter Re: .22 LR Rimfires for WTSHTF

Jim: While I agree that the 10/22 is not a “battle rifle”, I think it will have a lot of utility WTSHTF. The ease of use and flat, fast trajectory make it an outstanding suppression weapon. Untrained troops are easily suppressed and several 10/22s working in coordination, will serve to allow others with battle rifles to maneuver to an assailable flank in both a defensive and offensive situation. Regards, – Dances With Goats in Kansas JWR Replies: I have to disagree. .22 LR has a rainbow trajectory, and very poor energy at long range. The ballistic trajectory of .22LR makes …


Sun Tzu and The Art of Prepping, by B.F.

Around 2,500 years ago, a Chinese general named Sun Tzu wrote a treatise called “The Art of War.” I first read it when I was in Officer’s Candidate School back in the 1970s. There are a number of translations and interpretations of the book available today. It is claimed that Marco Polo brought back a copy from his travels in the Thirteenth Century. I have also read where writers say that Von Clausewitz used Sun Tzu’s principles when he wrote “On War” and that (probably closer to the truth) Napoleon had a copy that had been first translated into French …


Praise For Chris Walsh and Revolutionary Realty

Over a period of time I have accumulated many letters of recommendation for Chris Walsh and his real estate agency, Revolutionary Realty. (It is a two-man agency that specializes in retreat properties in The American Redoubt.) I’ve actually received nine letters of recommendation for Chris, but the latest one reminded me that I’ve been remiss in mentioning Chris in the blog. So from the nine letters, I picked just six particularly succinct ones to post, as a representative sample. Note that some of these are just excerpts from longer letters. And I’ve redacted a few details to protect the privacy …


Keys = Access = Power, by B.C.

My last parent passed away, and I’m dealing with the estate/inheritance. I was the close child and trustee/executor (personal representative). It’s a miracle that all the siblings are still friendly (though there is still money to be paid out)! I will also warn you that it is a LOT of (thank-less) work. One of the projects was to sort out all of their keys. It was no small task, as my father owned his own business. I also decided to do my keys at the same time. I’ve tried to hit all the points, but it is hard to organize …


Letter Re: Personal Notes of Application From SurvivalBlog’s “The Frog in A Slowly Heating Pot”

Dear SurvivalBlog Editor, Regarding the letter, Personal Notes of Application From SurvivalBlog’s “The Frog in A Slowly Heating Pot”- Part 1, by C.F., Saturday June 13, 2015, I always recommend to folks wanting to setup a sentry organization that they review the United States Armed Forces’ General Orders for Sentries. This gives the organization an excellent starting point for how to organize an effective watch program and insures that all participating are using the same vocabulary. Since the prosecution of George Zimmerman in FL in 2012, many folks would like for their sentries to be unarmed, but I encourage all …


Security for Survival

Shielded Ethernet Connectors When connecting devices to your security system, there are two basic methods used: wired and wireless. In a later article, I will cover the advantages and disadvantages of both systems and when they are appropriate to use. However, the idea for this first installment was created as I had to repair some Ethernet cabling at a customer’s residence. The customer was familiar with Ethernet connectors and had cobbled together a connector when he moved his computer system to another area of the residence. He had lost a wifi radio to a lightning storm when he shouldn’t have, …


Defending The Castle, by R.T.

Numerous articles and blogs have appeared over the last couple of years, targeting the prepper community and those people associated with standing up for our God-given rights as well as those rights afforded us from within the Constitution. These articles are generally positive, and they supply the reader with a fair amount of good quality advice in regards to surviving a “grid down” situation or some other catastrophe that may come about. Being that it is nearly impossible to know which impending event might suddenly occur with little or no notice, it is extremely difficult to plan for ALL possible …


Letter Re: Finding Other Preppers

Dear Mr. Latimer, I am struggling with an issue and hope you can give me some guidance. I recently made a purchase in a preparedness business that opened in a neighboring town. The owner of the store had several questions regarding my life and specific questions about my level of preparedness. His questioning was more than trying to sell his products. (What supplies do I have? Describe the location and terrain of my home. What water sources do I have? What are my neighbors like? Am I a member of a group? et cetera) I understand his reasoning, but I …


Security Screens, Security Film, and Security Bars, by D.E.

A large percentage of preppers plan on bugging in and weathering any possible TEOTWAWKI situation in our existing homes. While this plan provides the ability to stockpile lots of food, water, and gear (including weapons and ammo of choice) for the long term, it does not prevent one or more intruders from coming with superior numbers or fire power, penetrating our defenses, and taking all of that great stuff from us. We rely on the strength of our home, and we don’t realize or want to acknowledge that local building codes are not providing for castle strength. Modern homes are …