Category: Self-Defense

Letter Re: Advice on AK, SKS, and Mosin Rifles

Mr Rawles,   I’ve read through your section on firearms and have a question about the rifles.   As I’m very much on a budget, I am looking to add one or two self defense rifles for the TEOTWAWKI type scenario.  I’ve been looking into the AR rifles and find that they are ungodly expensive.  I’ve found some Bushmasters that seem to be in good shape for around $800, but these were chambered in .223, which seems like a fine personal defense caliber, but is not versatile enough to use to kill game, should you have the opportunity.  The .308 …


Letter Re: Walking Sticks for Self Defense

Dear Editor: That sidearm on your hip may have a lot of admirable qualities, but so long as rule of law is still in effect here in the US, there are some places you simply can’t take it. On a plane, for example, or into a Post Office (which is where folks tend to “go postal”). Further, even if you are armed, there still could be a problem with an attacker who is relatively close. Several sources assert that, at 21 feet an armed, fast-moving attacker could close the gap and fatally assault you with a knife, sword, or blunt …


Letter Re: The .357 Magnum: An All-Around Survival Cartridge

Mr. Rawles, I have been reading your blog for a couple of years now and it is something I look forward to every day. I have even persuaded my wife to open her mind and start preparing as a result of many of the articles on SurvivalBlog.   Regarding the article on the .357 Magnum, I agree with most of what the writer had to say regarding the performance of the round. But there are a couple of  points I feel compelled to make.   1) To take advantage of the ballistics he refers to in comparison to other cartridges (specifically, I …


Letter Re: A Strange Assortment of Weapons in Rio

Dear Editor: In a 28 November post in Survival Blog, you observed: “Rio de Janeiro shaken by fresh gang violence. There were 15 deaths in one day. Notice that one of the photographs shows a policeman carrying a scoped FN-FAL. Things must be serious. Please pray for the city’s residents.” As a journalist I encountered a wide variety of weapons in use by the Rio de Janeiro Policia, including Imbel FALs, Ruger Mini-14s, various M16/M4 family weapons, Kalashnikovs and many examples of handguns. If the equipment–including tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles–tactics and appearance of the policia appears to be that of …


The .357 Magnum: An All-Around Survival Cartridge

As an avid reader of SurvivalBlog I know that most preppers like the .45 ACP round as their standard. That’s a great choice and an excellent round. It has a long and solid history as a combat round. It falls short in the arena of woods carry and most don’t consider it a hunting round. This report is not to compare the .45 to the .357 Magnum as it is an overdone conversation. Instead, I would like to outline the facts about the .357 Magnum and discuss some of the misconceptions as well as the viability of this classic as …


Letter Re: Rifle Sling Recommendations

Dear Sir,   When you have some time, I’d like to hear your recommendations on the best sling option for L1A1 or FAL rifles (perhaps also for fixed stock and full length ARs). There seems to be a lot of ‘tacti-cool’ stuff out there, with a zillion buckles and straps to get in the way and strangle you. Single-point and 3-point are all the rage right now (as well as hip holsters and chest rigs), but it seems the old 2-point is still best for patrol and general carry. What do you use and/or recommend?   I’ve been leaning towards …


A Crucial DIY Skill: Ammunition Handloading, by Aaron L.

Would you like to learn a skill during these relatively quiet times that will assist you to obtain, or at least keep,  gasoline, diesel, food and every other commodity the a day after this society falls?   The SurvivalBlog posts regarding TEOTWAWKI may provide you with information regarding  what is the bare minimum you need to strive for in you preparation of the day after disaster strikes.  What if you want to be more prepared?  Do you want to possess a skill that everyone will have a need for the day after the disasters strike? Some people believe that a person’s …


My Path to Preparedness, by C. in The Ozarks

I am almost 60 years old.  I have a neurological disease which has forced my early retirement.  I am single, never been married, and have no children.  My parents are both deceased and my sister is deceased.  My brother is retired and lives in Florida.  [Some deleted, for brevity.] I also do not have any friends.  My best friend decided that since she couldn’t see the effects of my neurological disease then I must be faking it and being lazy to retire early.  She doesn’t see me writhing in pain most evenings even though I take a lot of pain …


A Rookie on the Range, by Lew B.

Greetings fellow SurvivalBloggers.  Any of you who read my piece “How I Woke Up” may recall that I started my awareness and prepping in August of 2009.  Today I wanted to touch on my limited knowledge of firearms, and what I’ve done to start firming up that area.  Up until six years ago, I had never owned or fired any kind of weapon other than slingshots and pellet rifles as a child.  I dabbled in archery as a young adult, but wasn’t the guy splitting arrows on the bulls-eye.  But then something happened six years ago that changed that.  I …


From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When, by Scott in Wisconsin

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It’s easy to see that the world may be heading for more trouble, and we need to prepare for hard times ahead.  But it can be daunting to decide what to do, what to stock, and when to get it. I’ve been working at this a while, and I’ve figured out a simple balance in what to buy, and when to buy it, that I think will help other Preppers move ahead with confidence. You could call it my 100/1,000/10,000 system, and I hope it helps you get going, and get to a place where you feel more prepared for …


Survival and “The Right Stuff” Thoughts on Guns and Medicine, by Matthew R.

Survivalism in our age represents a gamut of knowledge in diverse subject areas. Expertise in a specific subject area can be a rare and valuable find. But anyone who claims to be a “general expert” is an oxymoron at best. I have been serving in the Army Reserve and National Guard as a medic for seven years now; and I am an OIF veteran. That makes me an expert in a very limited area of combat medicine. It also makes me generally knowledgeable in areas of basic soldiering. Based on these experiences, I believe I knowledge and skills that could …


My Lessons Learned From a Recent Tactical Shotgun Class, by Greg C.

I recently took part in a Tactical Shotgun class with the US Training Center and learned a great deal. I am obviously not an operator and have not engaged dozens of insurgents, but I feel the training I received was logical and correct. I’ll skip all of the obvious safety and protection comments which were part of the training and very well covered. I’ll also not discuss the media hatchet job performed on their earlier incarnation “Blackwater”. Here are my lessons learned from the three day class: Tactical does not mean cool looking, adorned with a plethora of accessories or …


Five Letters Re: ARs as Survival Combat Weapons

Sir: I just read Dan in Missouri’s article “ARs as Survival Combat Weapons, by Dan in Missouri”/ I learned you need to take an AR-M4 and do all sorts of upgrades, buy a $250 chamber reamer, and about $400 worth of backup parts, and you evidently cant pull one out of the box and depend on it – what a sad commentary on the design being inherently flawed and constantly in search of an upgrade. With the AK, one can fire assorted qualities of ammo, neglect cleaning or maintenance for thousands and thousands of rounds, and generally ignore the weapon, …


Letter Re: A Lifetime of Prepping Without Knowing It

Mr Rawles, I recently read “Patriots” and wanted to let you know how this book got me to thinking about how to be prepared for a potential social collapse. I thought through all of the steps that needed to be taken and realized that I’ve been prepping since I was born. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Kansas City, but my family history was one of extreme self sufficiency. My mom who lived through the last great depression taught me how to can, garden, make things stretch as far as possible and be able to survive without …


ARs as Survival Combat Weapons, by Dan in Missouri

There are a lot of varying opinions on what make up the best combat weapons for a TEOTWAWKI situation.  My group has chosen the AR-15/M4 platform as our battle rifle, and I’m going to explain the why.  For various reasons, some people have a negative opinion on the AR-15 platform, and I’ll address that as well.  Finally, I’ll show that all rifles aren’t created equal and what you need to do to any rifle to make it function like one of the best. First, let’s look at the intended role for a battle rifle.  I believe this is an area …