Category: Traditional Skills/Fieldcraft

Letter Re: Do It Yourself Coffee Roasting

After reading some information in SurvivalBlog about roasting green coffee beans I thought I could offer some useful info on the subject, since I’ve been a coffee supplier and roaster for about 10 years. Let’s assume the grid is down—how does one roast coffee? You can do it over an open flame such as a propane burner, or campfire. In the days of cattle drives the cook would roast in a cast iron pot just stirring the beans constantly. If you do that then a peaberry type coffee bean works best because they are more round, and my research tells …


Letter Re: Ammunition Reloading for Survival

Jim, I saw the article that mentioned Reloading for autoloading rifles, and some comments that seemed to not completely answer questions people may have. It is important to note that reloading any caliber is a delicate undertaking for any gun you are about to trust your life with. The use of case gauges is an important one, but for the part-time reloader they are an expensive investment (~$30-50 each!). A much easier method is to test the cartridge in the firearm, to accomplish this, if you are working on either a progressive or single stage press, reload a few rounds …


Letter Re: Ammunition Reloading for Survival

James, You might want to mention that reloading for semi-auto rifles requires an extra measure of care. After sizing, cases should be checked with a Wilson or Dillon case gauge to make sure they are are sized correctly. Maximum overall case and cartridge lengths have to be adhered to [Clint McKee,] the owner of Fulton Armory is very "down" on reloading for semi-auto battle rifles, and I believe most of the [bolt out of fully-locked position] Kabooms with AR-15 type rifles have occurred with reloaded ammo. While one should be very careful when reloading ammunition of any type, one must …


Ammunition Reloading for Survival, by NC Bluedog

Ammunition storage is one of the survival planning trinity: (“Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids”). But what happens when you run out? You can’t plant a garden for 7.62mm NATO or cut up old sheets to make .45 ACP. In this case you need to at least consider the practice (some would say art) of ammunition reloading. Speaking from a perspective of more than 10 years experience, I can honestly say that reloading is no more difficult than repairing a leaking faucet and baking a loaf of bread. It is very similar to making up a recipe with a few mechanical interventions. …


Letter Re: Will Peasant Farmers Fare Better than the Rich in TEOTWAWKI?

Hi, I’m finding SurvivalBlog very interesting in these troubling times. I came across it in the bibliography of a good novel, “Last Light”, by Alex Scarrow, which took me to Peak Oil, and then to your blog. I live in a small city in the most unknown part of Italy , a southern region called Basilicata . It’s always been a region bypassed by history and its inhabitants have known a modicum of well being only in the past 20 years. You might have heard of a book called “Christ Stopped at Eboli” by Carlo Levi. Well, that’s here. Though …


Raising Rabbits for Meat , by Pete C.

In most industrialized countries, including the United States, rabbits are not commonly considered a meat animal. However, before a TEOTWAWKI situation arises, small retreats may seriously want to consider raising rabbits as a reliable source of meat to feed their family, to use as barter or charity. Rabbits are fairly easy to raise which makes them especially adaptive for small retreats (to include urban areas) where limited space for other livestock – cows, hogs, goats, chickens, etc., are just not practical. In addition, many localities may not consider rabbits as live stock since they are often pets. Thus they may …


Letter Re: The Importance of Acquiring and Learning to Use Traditional Tools

Jim, For those readers that have livestock they need to prepare for the day when hydrocarbon fuel may not be available for tractors. I would suggest a buck rake and a pull-behind sickle mower that a horse could pull. It beats cutting hay by hand. These items can often be picked up at farm and ranch auctions. Enough hay can be put up for a few cows, horses and sheep for the winter months when snow may cover grazing ground. I would recommend a treadle sewing machine. Clothes will need to be mended and taken care of until society gets …


The ABCs of WTSHTF, by Mark B.

The ABCs of When the Schumer Hits the Fan (WTSHTF.) aren’t what you have prepared, acquired or stowed but even more basic in the preparation processes that we sometimes take for granted. The A is the ability to learn, to adapt and to try. No matter how many classes we take or how much we have stored away there is the potential that we might have missed something or prepared for one scenario and ended up with another. We may be in the middle of TEOTWAWKI and not be fully ready but guess what, we aren’t scheduling it. Ability is …


Working Dogs and Horses in Bug Out and Retreat Planning, by TD

I have adopted many animals over the years and come to realize that sometimes you do get great things for free, other times you get hurt. How do you pick the right animals for you and your family? Do you get an animal just to suit one purpose or do you get a mutt that will hopefully fit the bill? How do you choose the right one? Dogs For dogs, first talk to someone who has the breed of dog you are most interested in and find out about inherent defects and temperament problems. If you have kids or grandkids …


More About Front Sight’s New “Get a Gun” Training and Gear Offer

Naish Piazza, the director of Front Sight sent me some of the frequently asked questions about the “Get a Gun” training and gear package offer that I mentioned in SurvivalBlog last week. 1.) What kind of Springfield Armory XD Pistol is given away in this offer? A Standard Model 4″ Barrel XD in your choice of 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP. The perfect balance for good gun handling, power, speed and concealability. 2.) Is it 4 days or 5 days of training at Front Sight? You attend Front Sight’s flagship Four Day Defensive Handgun Course, the course everyone raves …


Letter Re: Horse Breeding Now, and in the Future

Jim, I wanted your opinion on something. I raise Quarter horses, mostly show prospects and have done this for a lifetime. I own the stallion, I do the breeding of my own mares and ship [straws of frozen] semen all over the country for others. I also train outside horses for a living. As you well know the horse economy like everything else is going down the tubes. I have been down sizing for the past three years as the Holy Spirit has prompted [my string] going [down] from 60 to 30. I did not breed any of my mares …


Retreat Livestock Guardians, by TD

When the grid goes down and predation goes up, from animals (wild and feral/formally domesticated) and other people will be a very large problem. The television show Jericho showed some of the problems with diminished game and a lack of dogs and cats. Right now a lot of city dwellers complain about the population of deer, raccoon, opossum, coyote and others. In the city they are a problem right now. If something drastic were to happen it would decimate those populations, removing most outside food sources for cities. Most people, who do not hunt for food, hunt for trophies and …


Camping Trips as Training for WTSHTF, by DPM

In the times that may soon be upon us, we may need to live in a way we are not accustomed to or prepared for. I suggest camping as a method of acclimatization to those circumstances. My brother and I are avid campers. Usually getting up to higher elevations, at least 25 times a year. These are often not just overnighters but from two days to up to a week. My personal best year was 32 camping trips from mid February to as late as November, including a full week as a vacation. I have gotten too much sun on …


Front Sight’s New “Get a Gun” Training and Gear Offer

Front Sight has been a SurvivalBlog advertiser for nearly as long as I have been writing the blog. The Memsahib and I have both attended four-day courses at Front Sight, and we can attest that the training there is absolutely top notch. We were both very impressed with the world class quality of the instruction and the quiet professionalism of the instructors. The Front Sight experience is hard to put into words. You really need to experience it for yourself. To be prepared for the potentially dark days ahead, I highly recommend that at least one member of your family …


Letter Re: Reloading for 7.5 Swiss

Dear Jim, Regarding East Tennessee Hillbilly’s otherwise excellent summary of reloading: In the back of the Arsenal of Democracy I keep a case of each caliber I shoot. The 7.5 Swiss cartridge has a wider case, thicker base and thicker rim than .308. I don’t believe it’s possible to fabricate 7.5 Swiss cartridges from .308. – Michael Z. Williamson JWR Replies: I have read that .284 Winchester brass can be re-formed to 7.5 Swiss without much difficultly. The same thread mentions that Graf & Sons sells virgin Boxer-primed 7.5 Swiss brass that they had made up with their own head …