Category: Self-Defense

The Newly-Released ATF NFA Guidance: Drill Baby, Drill!

I’ve had several more readers contact me in the past week, asking about the Guidance from the BATF regarding SBRs, SBSes, Suppressors, and AOWs, in light of the August, 2026 Silencer Shop (and related Jensen) decision. For non-licensee private individuals, here is the the most portion of the new Guidance is (with emphasis added): “Although the district court’s injunction applies only to plaintiffs and certain other specified persons, the Department has determined to exercise its enforcement discretion to create greater uniformity, consistent with the Attorney General’s statement today. Consequently, effective October 9, 2026, ATF will no longer require individuals to …


A Letter To My Younger Self – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) The World As We Now Know It Succeed here first. A good man succeeds regardless of where he is. Marcus Aurelius would be a good man here or in ancient Rome. Same for Sejong the Great. Same if an Adeptus Astartes was put in your place. A good man succeeds where he finds himself. “I would succeed if only…” is loser talk. It’s taken many a man who might have succeeded and turned him into one who did not. You’ve probably heard “if you think you can or think you can’t, you’re …


A Tale of Two Appleseeds – Part 1, by N.C.

I recently went to two Project Appleseed shooting events. I went to one with friends one by myself. One was in the south in the summer the other in the north in the winter. There was a lot the same at these two events and a decent amount was different. There was a more negative experience for the first one and a more positive in the second, though neither was entirely positive or negative. How were these events different and why? Those are the questions I’m asking and answering here. I want to answer those questions both for the clinics …


The Fighting Cane, by “Kim Kipling”

The need to be prepared to defend one’s self in an increasingly uncivil, hostile world is apparent. I strongly recommend the daily carriage of a defensive sidearm, backed up by a reliable edged weapon whenever possible, and I strongly encourage regular practice with these essential tools. More important than simply having hardware is cultivating the mindset of awareness and preparedness. But all too often, our increasingly intrusive nanny state governments, both national and local, enact laws and encourage policies designed to disarm us in public places. Some jurisdictions will go out of their way to prosecute any use of armed …


Some Thoughts on Batteries and Flashlights, by Hoofer

We’ve read SurvivalBlog for several years, my wife first (she’s the farmer), and more recently, me… the last 4-5 years. (I’m the farmer’s husband, but, grew up on 250 acres, farming). I took particular note of the recommendation ‘not’ to use/buy appliances which use 18650 batteries (Li-ion rechargeable). We bought four of these 18650 batteries 2.5 years ago, and use them nearly every day. This particular variety is not in stock on Amazon – however, the replacements are well worth considering, if you’re actively using flashlights. Our old standard flashlights, were Mag-Lites, 3, 4, 6 D-cell versions, which we’d had …


Thoughts on the Morality of Lethal Self-Defense, by Mr. Wobbet

Introduction The recent shooting death of Renee Good has resulted in a lot of discussion about whether or not the shooting was justified. Those discussions are important to our society and are illuminating when everyone engages with respect for each other. I project that most regular readers of this blog will land on the side of “legally justified self-defense”. But whether or not it is legally justified is not what I want to address in this missive. I think, especially if my projection of my audience is accurate, that what I want to address is even more important. What is …


Lessons From a Fight at a Restaurant, by Robert E. Downing

(The photo above, courtesy of Openverse, was taken by “Terren in Virginia“, a witness to a 2008 baseball team “fan rivalry” brawl at a New York sports stadium.) The following is what I learned about security at lunch one day: Scenario One Tuesday, about six weeks ago, I stopped for a late lunch at a local upscale family restaurant in Virginia Beach, Virginia, that is part of a well-known chain.  It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and it seemed to be a quiet place to have lunch and prepare my Sunday school lesson. I selected a seat near …


Practical Preparedness Suggestions – Part 2, by R.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) 5. Self Defense This segment references reading, training and situational awareness that will be difficult for some people. Use what you can. Learn how to profile people and your surroundings. It happens in many forms, constantly. There are predators who don’t care about how nice you are. (Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”) They will take advantage of the graces and courtesies that we usually employ to soften or de-escalate a problem. Learn what and how those predators think. Trust me, you …


A Top-10 Prepping List, Multi-Tool Not Included – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) 3. WOODSTOVE Currently, only 1.7% of American homes heat with wood with an additional 7.7% use it for their secondary source of heat. That leaves 90% of Americans without a sustainable way to heat their homes if the SHTF. Don’t be one of those 90% if you want to survive your first post-SHTF winter. Based on those numbers, for most preppers heat will be the second most difficult thing (after water) to prepare for on a long-term sustainable basis. And because it’s so difficult, it’ll be the most neglected topic among their prepping priorities. Don’t ignore …


Loaves, Fishes, Tree Bark, Seeds, and Knowledge – Part 4, by The Chemical Engineer

(Continued from Part 3.) 2.5 – Options For Using Local Cambium Resources If we have prepared beforehand to harvest tree cambium and a Type 2 Emergency (T2E) happens, we will have three main choices to consider in my view. I encourage you to make this decision prayerfully and with your group’s best judgment. Every choice in a disaster is a set of trade-offs with no perfect solutions. If we actively try and help our neighbors early there is no doubt that this will reduce early suffering for some and could lead to ongoing beneficial cooperation. If more people are pulling …


A Three-Year Window or a Three-Month Window?

As an observer of contemporary politics, economics, and emerging threats, I have come to the conclusion that the last three years of Donald John Trump’s second term as President may provide a potential window of opportunity. If we were now living under a Harris-Walz Administration, we would surely be out of time to prepare. I have my doubts about Trump’s sincerity when he talks about scaling back the size and power of government. Alarmingly, the gains of the DOGE project were wiped out by the huge deficit spending included in the recent  “Big, Beautiful Bill”.  But I don’t consider DJT …


The “Come as You Are” Collapse–Have the Right Tools and Skills

Introductory Note From JWR: This article is an update and small expansion to a succinct post that I made back in February, 2008. When the Second World War broke out in September, 1939, the United States had nearly two full years to ramp up military training and production before decisively confronting the Axis powers. In the mid-1970s, looking at the recent experience of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Pentagon’s strategic planners came to the realization that the next major war that the US military would wage would not be like the Second World War. There would not be the luxury …


Preparedness Primer for an Uncertain Future – Part 6, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This young man is prayerfully seeking a wife. He is offering an after-marriage gift of up to $50,000 to whoever introduces him to his bride with $18,000 after their marriage and another $16,000 to the individual who provided the introduction after the first two births of healthy children born to him and his wife, for a total potential gift of $50,000. For further details, see this link to his article posted on July 13th, 2025: My Quest for a Wife: I’m Willing to Move. — (Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article.) Five Hundred Dollar Prepper …


Preparing To Go To Gunsite – Part 3, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) Flashlight I bought this from Gunsite’s pro shop where they have a couple of options. I bought their bottom of the line (but still expensive to me) Fenix PD36R V2.0 Rechargeable Flashlight for about $100. I agonized a bit over this decision, I did not normatively carry a flashlight and I was not planning to begin carrying one. When I started researching I found that Flashlight guys are like Watch guys, they speak their own language and very quickly start spending huge amounts of money for the model that’s “just right” for …


Preparing To Go To Gunsite – Part 2, by N.C.

(Continued from Part 1.) Physical Requirements Can you stand for six hours a day in the sun and weather? Be brutally honest with yourself here. I saw one gentleman who came who could not. I felt so bad for him. To have spent all the money and time and be unable to actually complete the training would be heartbreaking. On the other hand there were absolutely people north of 60 completing the course. You don’t need to be able to run a marathon but you do need to be able to stand in the sun for several hours. Bear in …