Round 59 Non-Fiction Writing contest Winners Announced!

First Prize goes to PrepperDoc for “Protecting Both Tube and Transistor HF Communications Equipment From E1 EMP Pulse – Part 1” & “Part 2” which was posted on June 5th and 6th. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD Billet …




That Pesky Little First Amendment

Over the weekend, by way of the NRA some troubling news spread across the Internet: “Commonly used and unregulated Internet discussions and videos about guns and ammo could be closed down under rules proposed by the State Department, amounting to a ‘gag order on firearm-related speech,’” This stems from an Obama Regime reinterpretation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The State Department is updating the ITAR, which implements the Federal Arms Export Control Act (AECA). The net effect of this new ITAR amplification would be to reclassify gun blogs, forums, chat rooms, and firearms “how-to” web pages as …




Round 58 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First prize goes to Florida Mom for “Our Founding Fathers Were Right” which was posted on April 1st. She will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your …




Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 5a of 9, by Pat Cascio

[Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game is a SurvivalBlog exclusive.] Chapter Three – GUNS & KNIVES When we get into the topic of guns and knives, it holds a special place in my heart. I have carried a handgun since I was 18 years old and some sort of pocket knife even longer. Deadly weapons don’t necessarily have to be used in the way they are generally intended for them to make an impact. Sometimes, the mere presence of one of these deadly implements is enough to stop an attack. The following is a true story. I know, I …




Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 3 of 9, by Pat Cascio

[Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game is a Survivalblog exclusive.] Chapter One HAND-TO-HAND With a few exceptions, it takes years and years of training to become proficient at defending yourself with nothing but your bare hands and feet. The “average” person on the street isn’t prepared to undertake this sort of lengthy and time-consuming training process. So, what are the options? I’ve been involved in the martial arts for close to 30 years, now. If there are any shortcuts or secrets, I sure haven’t discovered them. I’m continually amazed at the number of people who come to me for …




A Note of Caution from JWR

A SurvivalBlog reader has notified us that there is a person using Craigslist to scam money while pretending to be James Wesley Rawles. While this particular scammer is posting an ad for a 2-bedroom apartment in Chicago Illinois, please bear in mind that the real James Wesley Rawles will never use an email account from gmail, hotmail, outlook, or any other generic email account. All email correspondence from JWR will come from email accounts where JWR owns the domain (and most are presented in the pages of SurvivalBlog). JWR will also never ask you to use Western Union or questionable …




Round 57 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First prize goes to M.R. for “Your Brain On Paper—How to Write Useful Operating Instructions – Part 1”, “Part 2”, and “Part 3”, which were posted on February 27th and 28th and March 1st. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD …




Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 1 of 9, by Pat Cascio

FOREWORD Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! is written for the law-abiding citizens of America. In today’s world, the need for such a book is obvious, and Pat Cascio helps level the playing field between decent people and the evil predators who stalk the streets of the world today. A straightforward, no holds barred manual, it’s written by a top expert, who knows his business and deeply cares about the survival of you and your loved ones. Pat knows that the police cannot be everywhere, and so the advantage is in the hands of the criminal predator who strikes …




Looking For a New Offshore Server For SurvivalBlog

Since we no longer have a backup server in Sweden (a long story of which I’ll spare you the details), we are now looking to lease another dedicated offshore backup server for SurvivalBlog. This needs to be a dedicated server with very stable power (preferably hydroelectrically-sourced), 99%+ uptime, and rock-solid stable IP addresses. (Our IP address cannot change, once it is established.) Keep in mind that this server must be capable of regularly handling 25 mbps. We’d also like it to be in a country that is not excessively buddy-buddy with the U.S. government. However, at the same time, we …




Round 56 Non-Fiction Writing Contest Winners Announced!

First prize goes to I.S. for “Motorizing a Country Living Grain Mill for 12-volt Battery and Solar – Part 1” & “Part 2”, which were posted on January 21st and 22nd. He will receive the following prizes: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 Nato QD Billet upper with …




2005 -2014 SurvivalBlog Archive Now Available!

The expanded 2005-2014 SurvivalBlog Archive is now available as either a digital download, or as a DVD. Now, you’ll get not just one extra year of the blog but many more bonus books. (49 books, in all!) This is a complete archive DVD of all of the SurvivalBlog posts from 2005 to 2014. The article titles on this DVD are keyword searchable and are provided in both HTML and PDF. Effectively, it emulates SurvivalBlog offline, on your PC. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. With this DVD, you’ll always have access to the SurvivalBlog archives, even if the Internet …




SurvivalBlog’s Annual Disclaimers, Provisos, and Public Notices

SurvivalBlog, a private information service, is obliged to post some disclaimers and provisos, annually. These notices are current as of January 1, 2014 and remain in force unless later specifically revoked or modified by the Editor. Advertising and Reviews Per FTC File No. P034520: SurvivalBlog accepts cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of our advertisers that sell the products mentioned in this blog have solicited SurvivalBlog or our staff to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews …




Seeking Subject Matter Experts for My New Novel Series

After completion of the five-book Patriots novel series, I’m now drafting the first book in a new multi-novel series, which has not yet been named. I should mention that this new novel series does not tie in to the storyline of the Patriots novels. It will be considered science fiction, since it will be set 40 years in the future, and will include some anticipated technology developments. The first book in this series may be released in late 2015 or early 2016. To give this upcoming novel series the same level of authenticity as the Patriots series, I would greatly …




The SurvivalBlog Ten Cent Challenge — Annual Reminder

I only post one reminder each year about Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions, and this is it. Unlike the whining leftist hand-wringers at PBS, I don’t do endless pledge drives. I depend on my readers to help pay the bills to keep SurvivalBlog up and running. Our web hosting on a dedicated server costs $650 per month, and our local ISP bill is $135 per month. We also have a salaried Managing Editor and other expenses including liability insurance, phone bills, computer hardware, software, accounting, subscriptions, writing contest prizes, and so forth. My appeal is simple: If you feel that you …




A Retraction: I’m Again Recommending Northwest Territorial Mint

Just over a week ago, I made a post in my blog that no longer recommended Northwest Territorial Mint and that I would be dropping them as an advertiser. I made a hasty decision, based primarily on one letter from a blog reader. Because I had recently seen two precious metals firms go out of business, I felt that I had to take immediate action to protect the best interests of my readers. (Nobody likes to be the proverbial “third guy in line.”) It was only later that learned the full details on this reader’s order. It was for a …