Category: Retreat Security

Letter Re: Guinea Fowl for Bug Control in Your Garden

Hi Jim, In an e-mail, you had asked me “can guinea fowl can be kept in the garden or do they exhibit the same characteristics as chickens?” Our guineas free range into our open gardens all summer. They will eat small shoots, such as garlic and chives, and they do eat bean plants so we do need to protect them while young. They don’t seem to bother either tomatoes or squash/pumpkin plants. Once the garden plants reach mature height, they tend to leave them alone. I think they go after the small plants early in the season because there is …


Selecting a Rifle for a Budget-Constrained Prepper

Dear JWR, I have first taken the time to read through your previous posts on Main Battle Rifle (MBR) recommendations before asking this question, but have not found what I am looking for. I am sure you receive an over abundance of firearms questions but any help would be greatly appreciated. Due to financial restraints I am the weak link in my group so far in preparedness. I have chosen to spread what resources I do have at my disposal evenly rather than focus only on firearms as too many seem to do. I feel a need to escalate all …


Letter Re: Harder Homes and Gardens

Dear Jim, I think before readers spend their hard earned cash on a brick or cinder block structure (thinking it is much safer then stick framed construction) then watching all three parts of this [“Concealment Doesn’t Equal Cover”] video is essential. All [high power] rifles (.223, 7.62×39, .308) and 12 gauge slugs went through normal brick and [hollow] cinder block construction. Just food for thought. – Ryan JWR Replies: I first posted a link to that Dahlgren/Marine Corps training video in SurvivalBlog in December of 2006. There was also a discussion of this topic in July of 2007., following my …


Finding Your Dream Retreat: It is Time to Watch the Foreclosure Listings

I often get e-mails from readers, complaining that the retreat properties that they see listed are too expensive. Typically is something like: “I found a couple of good places, but they are beyond my reach.” Here is one possible solution: Buy on the other guy’s weakness. There are lots of foreclosures now on the market, and the foreclosure rate is expected to increase as the real estate bubble continues to deflate, and as the US economy slides into recession. (In my estimation, here is the equation for the next four years: Recession equals lay-offs, and layoffs equals missed house payments, …


Letter Re: The More Naive Peakniks Need to Learn to Exercise OPSEC

Dear Jim: I found an interesting article about local Peak Oil preppers. It illustrates to a “T” the naivete of some of the Peak Oil crowd you have mentioned previously. In the article (“Oil crisis ahead? ‘Peakniks’ build for future”) there is a good balanced coverage of the problem. Featured is a local architectural engineer who is building a sustainable home called “FoodWaterShelter”. His full name, the street he is building on, his current neighborhood, his wife’s occupation, etc., etc., are all put out for public consumption. Heck, he is even in a photo. It took under a minute to …


Letter Re: Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness

James, To amplify on the excellent recent letter from SoCal titled “Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness”, I have some suggestions that all of us SurvivalBlog readers should implement to keep a low profile in our online activities. Anonymizer and Comprehensive Risk Solutions (both mentioned in the letter) are great ideas. They are cheap insurance. I can also recommend a few other measures, to wit: 1.) Use the Scroogle Scraper for web searches. This allows you to use Google through an intermediary site. That way Google cannot create a profile on your searches. On background: Google is notorious …


Letter Re: Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness

Jim, My missus and I have been into “prepping” for about 15 years. Our house has a basement and it is practically wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with shelves–with just narrow aisles in between. The shelves are chockablock with storage food (all labeled and organized “FIFO“-style), medical supplies, assorted “field” type gear, tools, barter/charity stuff, ammo cans, propane cylinders (that fit our camp stove and camping lantern), reels of field phone wire, paper products, and so forth. Following the example of Mr. Whiskey (from your “Profiles“) we have recently built up 27 sets of designated “charity duffles”, each packed in a cheap …


Letter Re: Preparedness for Active Duty Military Personnel

James: Great blog! I also bought the latest edition of your novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. My older edition is in storage somewhere, (see below) and I really like the updated material, it almost seems like a new book. I don’t know if you have ever discussed survivalism from the perspective of families that need to move often. For those of us in the military who move every few years with weight limits the supply situation becomes more complicated. For most of us, idea of a fixed homestead is a dream for post retirement. The biggest problem I have …


Letter Re: Gauging Interest in Dakota Alert MURS Radios

Hi Jim, I am looking to gauge interest from your readers for the Dakota Alert MURS Base and Handheld radios. If there is enough interest in a special group purchase, I can offer the M538-BS MURS base station for $69 (plus shipping) and the M538-HT MURS hand held for $74 (plus shipping). Interested readers can e-mail me if they would like to be part of this group buy. (see the MURS Radio web site.) Thanks! – Rob at Affordable Shortwaves


Letter Re: How Much Ammunition to Store?

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Mr. Rawles: My wife and I enjoy your web site immensely. I do have one question for you. I know we are targeting how much food/water supply we need for long-term survive but how much ammo do you think the average family should strive to purchase/store? Thanks, – David K. JWR Replies: It is important to maintain balance in your preparations. Food storage, first aid supplies, and heirloom seed storage should be priorities. But after those have been taken acre of, it makes sense to stock up on ammunition. As long as you store your ammo in sealed military surplus …


Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

Winter Home Inspections Although winter time retreat shopping can afford many positives like reduced prices and motivated sellers, there can also be a few downsides as well. While purchasing your retreat during the winter, especially when there is a considerable amount of snow on the ground, extra care must be taken during your inspection period. Many surprises may await you when the spring thaw arrives. Among them may be hidden trash and slash piles that will have to burned or removed, road grading and repair work, downed frost free spigots, fencing repairs, vegetation removal and major grounds keeping issues that …


Letter Re: How to Win with Asymmetric Warfare, by Robert R.

Hi JWR. I read the responses to my article and wanted to write a reply that addresses Pathfinder’s comments, which in a nutshell said my examples with [registered] suppressors [for firearms] and night vision were dangerous and would give the wrong idea about being a “survivalist”. Pathfinder, I appreciate your worry that some people may have an over active imagination and end up doing some bad things given the ideas for possible tactics to use in an absolute worst case scenario, or that these tactics may scare off people who are just learning about survivalist information and browsing the site. …


Letter Re: Anti-Vehicular Barriers for Retreat Security

Dear Jim, I have for some time been meaning to write about vehicular and other counter-mobility obstacles. The dramatic video that you posted yesterday has prompted me. Ever since reading “Patriots”, when the looters simply cut the lock on the front gate with a “universal key” (bolt cutters), it has been on my mind. Coming as I do from a combat engineer background, I couldn’t believe how they could have overlooked such as basic aspect of perimeter hardening. They could have very well lost that fight because some clown had the sense to bring a pair of bolt cutters along. …


Letter Re: Anti-Vehicular Barriers for Retreat Defense

Jim, This video is rather impressive. The video description reads: “How many times have you wondered how strong those cement barriers are that you see in front of military base entrances? From time to time someone asks what the concrete barriers are in front of controlled and secure buildings. When they are told that the barriers will stop traffic, even trucks, from approaching the secure building, they usually get a look of disbelief. In the test, the following parameters were used: Truck weight = 65,000 pounds. Speed at impact = 50 m.p.h. Kinetic Energy = 5.5 Million foot-pounds. Stopping distance …


Three Letters Re: How to Win with Asymmetric Warfare, by Robert R.

Dear JWR, I would like to share some links and great references from a survival lecture and slide presentation given by one of the most important (yet non-acclaimed nearly enough) contributors to our US Strategic Warfare Development by John R. Boyd, Col. USA, deceased 1997. See this PDF of a slide presentation I had to chuckle when I read a follow up tactical criticism submitted in an article to SurvivalBlog and to the attempted re-writing and improving potential maneuverings for chapter scenario enhancements in excerpts from your revised “Patriots” novel. I so much enjoy this novel and consider it a …