Category: SurvivalBlog

Judging for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog Writing Contest — Winners Announced!

Our staff has completed the judging for Round 60 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes are awarded as follows: First Prize goes to Iowa Farm Boy for Traversing the Hinterlands – (Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3.) Second Prize goes to A.J. for Learning How to Grow Food in the American Redoubt. Third Prize goes to Redoubting Thomas for The 20% Solution. And Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift cards) go to these nine fine articles: The Aging Prepper, by R.H. MultipleFamilies on Your Retreat, by Farmer Brown Buildinga Simple Multiband Antenna That Works, by The Consultant …


New Prizes For Round 61 And Beyond

We are pleased to announce that three new prizes have been added to the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest prize packages, starting with Round 61. (Which begins today, October 1st, 2015..) These prizes are: A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case–a $1,700 value. (Added to the First Prize package.) Note that this prize is just their “starter”-size mobile off-grid power system. They build them all the way up to 3,000 watts! A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from …


Announcing JWR’s Latest Novel: Land of Promise

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve completed writing and editing my latest novel, titled Land of Promise. It will be released on December 1st, 2015 as an e-book, in trade paperback, and as an audiobook. This is the first volume of a planned five novel series, called the Counter-Caliphate Chronicles. The series begins 35 years in the future, and describes a timeline different from that in my Patriots novel series. These novels will have some science fiction elements, but you will find them as grounded in reality as my previous books. (There will be plenty of practical and tactical tips!) …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Over at The Prepper Journal: Migrant Crisis Validates Golden Horde Theory Fears o o o T. sent this BBC news story: US driver shot from police helicopter o o o Some great reading over at Thoughts from Frank and Fern: A Collage of Comments o o o Mac L. Sent this from The Wall Street Journal: Russia Expands Military Presence in Syria, Satellite Photos Show. (Note: A WSJ subscription is required.) o o o K.T. sent this bit of bad news: X Products Can Cannon Ruled to be an NFA Item When Assembled


Letters Re: Cold Steel’s SurvivalBlog Voyager Knife

JWR, Just a note to thank you for the input on the new knife design: WOW!— I’m pretty cheap on knives but was recently chastised by a client and retired police officer to always conceal carry (we were at a police qualifying range so “thought” I didn’t need to there) and have a large folding knife in my pocket—ALWAYS! He was very adamant, which woke me up in a good way. So seeing the JWR knife with all the key features that I felt were excellent, I ordered this knife to meet the retired officer’s recommendations; I’m very impressed!! – …


SurvivalBlog’s 10th Anniversary!

This month marks the 10th anniversary of SurvivalBlog. The blog was propitiously launched just a few weeks before the well-remembered Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Since August of 2005 we’ve only missed a few days of daily posting. (Those were immediately following the untimely death of my first wife.) The blog’s archives of articles and letters are now amazingly deep, and we’ve kept them all fully accessible to everyone, free of charge. The blog now has more than 320,000 unique visitors per week, and has logged nearly 76 million unique visits. My sincere thanks to our many loyal readers, …


Announcing the SurvivalBlog Limited Edition XL Voyager Knife!

I’m pleased to announce that after more than a year of development, Cold Steel has released the Limited Edition Rawles Voyager Extra Large (XL) folding knife. This knife was specially made to my own specifications. It features the new Carpenter CTS XHP steel for superior edge holding and corrosion resistance, a half-serrated tanto blade for practical versatility, a black diamond-like coating for low reflectivity, and an olive green Griv-Ex grip that won’t slip and that blends in to natural environments. Each knife comes with a right-hand pocket clip installed and a spare pocket clip for left-handers. It has an ambidextrous …


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 …