Category: Survival Mindset

The Mainstream Media’s Blatant Anti-Preparedness Bias

It seems that any time that there is a crime that involves someone who lives outside of city limits and that owns guns or that lives with any degree of self-sufficiency, then they are immediately branded as a “survivalist.” This label gets slapped on regardless of whether or not the perpetrator has had any training or inclinations toward survivalism. The outlaw Claude Dallas was a prime example. Dallas was an eccentric 19th Century anachronist rather than a survivalist. But the mainstream media uses the label “survivalist”, almost by default any time that a criminal flees into a National Forest, if …


Being Prepared is More Than Just Having a Bugout Bag, by Christine S.

When a SHTF moment happens, preparedness is everything. But it is more than just having a bugout bag and a meeting place for your family. It means being ready, economically, intellectually, and physically. I’m going to talk about three specific goals, why they are so important, and the techniques you can use to get yourself in the best position possible. Don’t wait to progress from one to the other – instead, look at each of the three goals and pick an idea from each to focus on, then continue to add and build as you go. Goal #1 – Economic …


Adjusting Survival Plans to Meet Your Unique Circumstances, by Thomas A.

So, first a quick rundown on my family circumstances.  I am a lawyer by training.  My spouse, a former teacher, is midway through dental school.  We own a (mortgaged) home in the Virginia suburbs of a large city.  My spouse is from a western state, having grown up around guns, hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, etc.  By contrast, I grew up in a small city, in a house without guns.  I was in the Cub Scouts for a few years, but various other interests took over and I never got to do the majority of the important skill-building that being in …


Experiences Prepping in Florida and Texas, by Scott B.

I’ll start this by saying I’m a single 33 year old. I’ve been into preparedness long before I knew there was a word for it.  I don’t really know where it came from in the beginning, though my mother was my Cub Scout leader in elementary school. Some of my best memories were sitting on the floor underneath the dining room table tying knots around the table legs. I also remember reading The Hardy Boys Handbook: Seven Stories of Survival in elementary school, which was a mix of survival stories and information. It is worthwhile to find a copy for your …


Four Letters Re: Could America’s Farmers and Ranchers Face a Rhodesian Future?

Hi Jim,  Reading your article brought back many memories of the period in our land during the 1970s. We lived on the Eastern border and were regularly attacked at night and even during the day and the culprits ran back across the border into Mozambique. We attended many funerals of fellow farmers and their families. One point of interest that you do not mention is that groups of farmers (neighbouring) hired Militia groups of experienced soldiers. Normally about 10 people plus a leader who in some cases was a white man. They patrolled the farm area at night and set up …


Could America’s Farmers and Ranchers Face a Rhodesian Future?

I envision one possible future for America that is fairly bleak, at least in the short term. If the economy deteriorates the way that I anticipate, and if the power grids ever collapse, then it could trigger that dreaded “worst case” situation. Such a socioeconomic collapse could precipitate a large population die-off in metropolitan regions, a bit less in the suburbs, and even less in the countryside. But an extended period of lawlessness would still cause considerable loss of life and property in rural areas. There will surely be a lot of refugees from urban areas, and some of them …


Urban and Suburban Preparedness, by ChemEngineer

A recent conversation prompted this article. It seems that friends in urban and suburban homes feel that there may be little hope for them in case of disaster, since they have no “retreat” set up in a rural area as a destination. This article points out similarities in all disaster preparedness, as well as possible differences in strategies and tactics to make surviving in urban and suburban locations more likely. None of these are new ideas, just slanted toward those who are urban/ suburban dwellers and that do not have a rural retreat location. While not detailed in scope, below …


A Survivalist Plan of Action and a Survivalist Mindset, by Ringo

I have recently retired from the military and have began to dig deeper into the survivalist arena. I have always been interested in this area for quite some time but have not really dedicated the amount of time that I want due to job requirements, life events etc. I have been reading all the blogs, videos and write ups about prepping, survival and there are a lot of good information out there. So I decided to use my 26 years of military experience (4 yeas Infantry, 6 years Long Range Surveillance and 16 years Special Forces)  and apply pertinent concepts …


Preparing To Be Prepared, by Patricia K.

Preparation, by definition, is this: “1. the act of getting something ready. 2. a state of getting ready.” So what is it you are getting ready for? Are you taking action and making a plan? Are you stocking-up? “Sure!” you say with enthusiasm “I am a prepper!”  You boast, as you align yourself with the great people of the past that were also prepared for catastrophes and unseen calamities of their day. Today is my opportunity to give you some insight on a topic that might easily be overlooked. I want to touch on the subject of “preparedness”, specifically a …


Survival as a Prerequisite to Thrival, by Mad Mongolian

If a disaster occurs next month, be it economic meltdown, war, or highly infectious pandemic, how prepared are you? The end of the world as we know it has already occurred. One hundred years ago, the west was still being won. The automobile was still a novelty and a competitor for the horse. Orville and Wilbur Wright had created the three axis-control, giving controllable wings to man, making our big planet a little bit smaller. Fifty years ago, manned space flight was still dreamt about by young boys. The Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis were looming large in …


Letter Re: To Shoot or Not to Shoot?

Mr. Rawles, I’m a regular SurvivalBlog reader.  I have your books and own the archive (Kindle edition).  Every once in a while I come across a post so genuinely correct I must comment on it.  Mr. White is absolutely correct.   Often times people will spout such utter nonsense on this subject it would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous.  And because so many aren’t well versed in this area, they buy it hook, line and sinker.     I can tell you from my own experiences; Mr. White’s advice is spot on.  I know this information to be factually correct.  …


Learning From Our Elders in Prepping for TEOTWAWKI, by the Measure Man

Let me begin with a brief history and a few insights into my journey towards being prepared for The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI.) I was born and raised, until the age of 7, in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States (the greater Los Angeles area). At which point my parents came to the realization that city life was no way to raise a family. So, they moved my sister and I to the Central San Joaquin Valley and began my education in rural life. At age 18 I joined the military …


Survival Insights of an American Genius, by Wayne M. Thomas

Many people remember the book Walden as the story of a hermit living in a hut who survived on twigs and berries in the Concord, Massachusetts woods. Its author, Henry David Thoreau, was no hermit, but a survivalist and philosopher who personified the best of American values of self-reliance, simplicity, love of the land, individualism and defense of personal liberty against governmental overreaching. He lived simply on Walden Pond from 1845-1847 without a GPS, iPod, iPhone, laptop or wi-fi.. Long before we developed a dependence on electronic devices, Thoreau defined some first principles for personal autonomy and survival. We find …


Learning From Extreme Missionaries, by Chuck Holton

As an international war correspondent, my work takes me to more than a dozen far-flung war zones every year. In my travels, I am often reminded just how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and get to meet many families caught in crisis and see the different ways they manage to survive. A recent trip to Africa brought one of the most powerful examples, where I met a family of missionaries who have built their lives in one of the most harsh and inhospitable corners of the planet. While for most survivalists, prepping for “TEOTWAWKI” is a “what if” …


A Woman’s Journey Towards Firearms Acceptance, by The Little Woman

Disclaimer: I am a novice enthusiast. I will no doubt get concepts, practices or terminology wrong, in spite of a fair amount of research.  Forgive this please….. I blithely lived out 51 years of life with a gun phobia. I have no idea why they scared me so, but scare me they did, and so I spent the bulk of my life with a generalized “guns must be bad because I’m afraid of them; they hurt and kill people” mindset.  My darling husband wasn’t really into shooting, when we married and since. He had an old .22 rifle that  he …