Category: Retreat Security

“Show Your Colors”–Recognition Flags for Post-Collapse Travel in Groups?

Jim, Some friends and I were out on a hike several weeks ago with our bug out bags, and we were talking about how we could easily identify non-threatening travelers or [perhaps even] fellow SurvivalBlog blog readers. Maybe a flag of some type? Being able to identify [“friendlies”] would be especially helpful in a TEOTWAWKI situation. I’m just wondering if anyone else had suggested anything along those lines. Thanks, – Steven JWR Replies: Your chances of meeting a fellow SurvivalBlog readers are slim. (There are only about 282,000 SurvivalBlog readers in the US, scattered in a population of more than …


Letter Re: Field Test with a MURS Band Dakota Alert Intrusion Detection System

James; I just recently purchased a MURS band Dakota Alert and Radio setup from [MURS Radio] that advertises on your site. Needless to say I got a screaming deal! I live in the Pacific Northwest, literally in the middle of dense woods. My radios and sensors arrived during one of the best snowfalls we have had in a while. All of the trees were loaded [with snow]. The temperature was in the very low 20s. Our terrain is mountainous. Here are my results (which may be helpful to your readers who may be thinking about purchasing them): [Dakota Alert MAT] …


Letter Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Jim, After reading the recent letters about home invasion robberies, I’ve gotten a little paranoid about the idea of someone kicking in my front door in the middle of the night. It would be incredibly easy to do and it’s unlikely I could retrieve a firearm quickly enough to defend (I have a toddler so all guns are locked up except a pistol, which my wife doesn’t know is in Condition 3 in a drawer too tall for my daughter to reach). The Strikemaster II is out of budget (I need three of them) so I looked into having similar …


Two Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Jim, I have not yet seen mention of “air locks” as a security layer for entry doors. Many years ago I managed a software project that included doing installs at armored car companies. The visitor entrance had you go in one set of doors to a small holding room. Here a security receptionist behind thick glass and gun ports could identify you and hold you until they were ready. Only then could you enter a second set of doors into the main facility, which would be analogous to an inner courtyard in a residential estate (i.e., an open area surrounded …


Letter Re: Bureaucratic Restrictions on Defensive Wire and Obstacles

Sir [Regarding your recent mention of the ban on barbed wire in the city of Newark, New Jersey,] they aren’t the only ones. I am currently in Kabul [, Afghanistan] doing contract security work and we wanted to improve the security of the compound we live in. We are doing so by adding HESCO bastions made into fighting positions on the outside of our perimeter wall. As our workers were finishing the last of them, the police came by to tell us that we could not put up HESCOs on the street. When I got out there I asked the …


Letter Re: Feed Sacks as Sandbag Substitutes

Mr. Rawles; We came across a small discovery here on our ranch. We feed many animals and four dogs. So we go through a good deal of dog food in bags. I noticed the similarity in dog food bags to the construction of sandbags. So, I have been using , dog food bags as low cost/no cost sandbags. They work well and if you keep the weight close to the amount that came in the bag. They don’t rip. We have been using them for a year and they hold up well in our tests thus far. They have been …


Five Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Dear Jim, Just one caution amid all the excellent advice on hardening a house against intruders–be sure it’s possible to get out from the inside easily in event of a fire or other disaster. Shutters, or latchable bars are better for this than those mounted solidly into the structure. Alternately, consider paying for ballistic glass. – Michael Z. Williamson Mr. Rawles, Thanks for your time and efforts – SurvivalBlog has been a great help to me and I am planning to mail a 10 Cent Challenge contribution to support your work. In the meantime, I thought I would comment on …


Six Letters Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Greetings Mr. Rawles, I read your blog everyday and am learning so much. Thanks for your dedication to helping prepare us for the future. In reference to the recent article on home security, we lived in Argentina for three years and we could all learn from their security measures. The first house we lived in had steel shutters, as did everyone in the neighborhood, and they were all shut at night. The doors have locks that automatically lock when you leave the house. The small front yards usually have tall steel fences with the same height gates. The gates were …


Letter Re: Home Invasion Robbery Countermeasures–Your Mindset and Architecture

Dear Mr. Rawles: First and foremost thank you for your novel “Patriots” which I am currently reading. I live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex. As of late there seems to be a rise in the number of “home invasion” type of crimes in this area. Every morning that I go to work I hear about a new incident in the metroplex. This has led me to put inside locks on my bedroom doors and purchase my first gun. I consider myself one of those “know enough to be dangerous” people, but am planning on taking a handgun safety course . …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Assembling Web Gear

I love the questions on web gear. Best advice I can give, having gone through multiple iterations of trying this and that, is to divide up your load. What do I mean by this? In the military they have a “combat load” and an “approach load” concept. Your “combat load” is the web gear that you see troops with all the time – their “battle rattle.” On the other hand the “approach load” is similar to what we would refer to as a survival load (roughly). The major problem with web gear is that it does not work with any …


Letter Re: Soft Nose Loads for Battle Rifles

Jim, I’ve only been reading your blog for a short time, but I find it both interesting and informative. Having been a hunter for the last 56 of my 64 years, I do wonder why anyone who plans on getting out of Dodge and heading for the woods would want a battle rifle with ball ammo when we won’t be bound by anything like the Hague Convention as to the ammo we use. Seems to me, that soft points would be a better choice and if the SHTF. My M1A will be traveling with me and will be loaded with …


Charity, Civility, Community, and Hope

Whilst pondering the various possibilities for the future, it is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of radio frequencies, milligram dosages, microns of filtration, calibers, and calories per ounce. (You” read plenty of those details in SurvivalBlog. But in doing so we can easily lose sight of bigger, far more important issues such as charity, civility, community, and hope. Charity Most of you reading this are the heads of households that are far better prepared than your neighbors. Your deep larder, expansive fuel storage, advanced skills, and wide range of useful tools will put you in a distinctly …


Letter from Jeff Trasel Re: Competence Versus Caliber

James: In continuing our discussion on the warrior-way as lifestyle, I have several observations relative to several recent posts on SurvivalBlog that need comment. First off, I am heartened by the level of awareness, camaraderie, and spirit of practical know-how, innovativeness, and just good common sense that pervades the posts of late. However, several have given me pause for thought, not so much for controversy, more so as how the subject matter should be approached by those new to our practice. For instance, there have been some marvelous discussions on battle rifle calibers and their respective effectiveness. In fact, the …


Sabotage and Counter-Sabotage, by A. Farm Graduate

The purpose of this article is to put another skill (if not a skill, perhaps a seed) in the mental toolkit of preparedness-oriented individuals. Although not an exhaustive study on clandestine operations, this article will give you a glimpse into an advantage seeking two part mindset – sabotaging the enemy’s equipment and keeping your equipment from getting sabotaged! It is assumed the condition under which this article would find use is the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI). Please don’t go do something listed in this article that you don’t have the skill or legal right to …


Letter Re: Riots in Greece Illustrate How Quickly Things Can Get Schumeresque

Hi James, I have found so much value in your site, I have contributed to the 10 cent challenge multiple times. I have also spent several thousand dollars with your advertisers. I believe in supporting a site that provides so much value to me and family. I’m passing a couple items along you might find interesting. First, here’s a news item about riots in Greece. It just shows how a variety of things can trigger TSHTF and things can turn on a dime: Also, here’s an interesting personal story about always being prepared and testing your gear: The other night …