Ready Up Gear Digital Trigger Pull Gauge, by Thomas Christianson

The Ready Up Gear Digital Trigger Pull Gauge provides a handy, reliable, easy-to-use tool for objectively measuring trigger pull weight on a firearm. Made for Ready Up Gear by Pridefend, the gauge was available for $29.99 at the time of this writing from www.readyupgear.com.

Background

As I test various firearms, it is easy to subjectively tell that some triggers feel heavier and that some triggers feel lighter than others. But heretofore I did not have an objective means of measuring exactly how heavy or how light a particular trigger might be. So when Ready Up Gear offered to provide me with a digital trigger pull gauge, I jumped at the opportunity. About a week later, a package was delivered via USPS.

First Impressions

The main body of the gauge is about 3 inches wide, about 4 inches tall, and about 1 inch thick. There is a 1.5 inch arm coming out of the side of the gauge upon which the sensor is located. The entire gauge is made out of black plastic. It has a battery compartment on the back, a screen, and 5 buttons on the front. The buttons are labeled with a power symbol and with the words, “units”, “mode”, “delete”, and “enter”.

The entire gauge including batteries weighs just 4.6 ounces on my battered but still effective “kitchen” scale that I never use in the kitchen.Continue reading“Ready Up Gear Digital Trigger Pull Gauge, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Emergency Corn Biscuits

The following simple recipe for Emergency Corn Biscuits is from Good HouseKeeping’s Book of Menus, Recipes, and Household Discoveries (253 pages, copyright 1925, now in public domain). That is one of the 11 new bonus books included in the new 2005-2023 edition of the SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick.

Ingredients
  • 1-1/4 cupfuls bread flour
  • 1 cupful of cold water
  • 3/4 cupful cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoonful sugar
  • 2 tablespoonfuls shortening
  • 5 teaspoonful baking-powder
  • 1 teaspoonful salt
Directions

Mix and sift the dry ingredients. Mix in the shortening with two knives or the tips of the fingers. Add to the cold
water and mix well.

Drop by spoonfuls into greased muffin pans or on a greased baking sheet one and one-half inches apart. Bake for twenty minutes in an oven which registers 450″ F.

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Do you have a well-tested recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long-term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven recipes, slow cooker recipes, and any recipes that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“What are the 50 historical laws dating from 1789 to 1868 that the Attorney General has compiled as potential historical analogues? One would expect to find laws or ordinances that required a gunsmith to check with the local sheriff before selling a firearm. Or one might expect to find laws that restricted gunsmiths from selling to any customer who was a stranger in his community. Or perhaps there would be historical laws uncovered requiring a customer’s proof of citizenship before a merchant was allowed to sell him gunpowder. These could be apt analogues to demonstrate a related historical tradition of constitutional regulation.

Nothing like this appears in the State’s compilation of laws. The State’s compilation lists 48 laws which made it a crime to possess a gun and ammunition by Negros, Mulattos, slaves, or persons of color, and two laws that prohibited sales to Indians. For example, the Attorney General lists a 1798 Kentucky law which prohibited any “Negro, mulatto, or Indian” from possessing any gun or ammunition. An 1846 North Carolina law offers another example wherein it was prohibited to sell or deliver firearms to “any slave.” This is the third time the Attorney General has cited these laws in support for its laws and restrictions implicating the Second Amendment. These fifty laws identified by the Attorney General constitute a long, embarrassing, disgusting, insidious, reprehensible list of examples of government tyranny towards our own people.”

and,

“In the end, the State has failed to carry its burden to demonstrate that the ammunition background check laws “are consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” as required by Bruen. Bruen cautions, “courts should not ‘uphold every modern law that remotely resembles a historical analogue,’ because doing so ‘risks endorsing outliers that our ancestors would never have accepted.’” 597 U.S. at 30. A
sweeping background check requirement imposed every time a citizen needs to buy ammunition is an outlier that our ancestors would have never accepted for a citizen. Therefore, California’s ammunition background check system laws are unconstitutional and shall not be enforced.” –  U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez, from his 32-page ruling in Rhode v. Bonta, January 30, 2024

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — February 4, 2024

On February 4, 1932, the United States hosted its first Winter Olympic Games, in Lake Placid, New York.  .
On February 4, 1974, newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). An observant San Francisco gun store salesman gathered intel and took photos of SLA supporters/arms suppliers. This led to the May 1974 Los Angeles shootout and Hearst’s subsequent arrest in September 1974.

February 4th, 1824: J. W. Goodrich introduced the world to the first rubber galoshes.

On this day in 1789, George Washington became the first and only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College. This was repeated on this same day in 1792.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2,000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  3. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 111 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

End-Times Trends and Pre-Tribulation Events, by R.G.

The Old Testament of the Christian Bible (which is the whole of the Jewish Bible) gave many astonishing predictions of what will take place during the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI). The key passages found in the Old Testament include Psalms Chapter 83, Ezekiel 36-39, Zechariah 14, and Daniel 7-12. The last book of the Christian Bible, Revelation, and many other New Testament books are full of end-times predictions.

Jesus combined most of these Old and New Testament prophecies about the end times when he gave the Olivet Discourse (Mat 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). This was Jesus’s last teaching just before his arrest and execution, so at least Jesus considered these end-time events to be important. It is also important to remember that the Bible is primarily the story of the Jews and their Jewish homeland, which includes Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. And the prophecies foretold in the Bible are presented from a Jewish point of view. Since we are constantly bombarded with human ideas and deceptions, wouldn’t it be reasonable to get our “Perception Bias” on end-time events from the most important book ever written?

All these end-time predictions defined at least 11 Key Trends to watch for leading up to the final seven-year Tribulation. As described in Matthew 24, a key condition to knowing these Trends are occurring during the end-times is they all will grow in Frequency, Intensity and Visibility like birth pangs until by Tribulation time they become Unstoppable.Continue reading“End-Times Trends and Pre-Tribulation Events, by R.G.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR, from an idea suggested by Bruce Rawles:

Meme Text:

Why do they call some non-fluorescent light bulbs “Peruvian”?

Because they are of Incan descent!

Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks!

Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;” – Revelation 5:1-9 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — February 3, 2024

On February 3, 1811, American newspaper editor Horace Greeley, known as one of the most persuasive antislavery voices in the antebellum North, was born in Amherst, New Hampshire.

This is the birthday of writer James Michener (1907–1997), known for his very well-researched epic novels, such as Centennial.

This is also the birthday of painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894–1978.)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2,000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $359 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
  2. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  3. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 111 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Handling Predators, by Hollyberry

Predators come in all shapes, forms, and sizes. Some have fur, feathers, or scales. Some of them walk upright among us. What exactly is a predator? As the name implies, they prey on a victim. Who doesn’t hum the theme to Jaws when stepping into the ocean? As soon as you enter the water, you become part of the food chain. Sharks are predators, we are the prey. When an animal preys upon another animal, it is usually not on a personal level, it’s to eat. Yes, sometimes dominance is involved. When humans prey on other humans, it’s all personal. The predator selected that victim for a particular reason. Your goal, dear reader, is to try not be that victim.

ANIMAL PREDATORS

Living in the woods and at times raising goats, geese, rabbits, and chickens, you are acutely aware of the food chain. Most of the animals we were raising were at the bottom of the food chain. The Nigerian dwarf goats required an electric fence. One day I came home and the goats ran to me as I was getting out of my car. I was stunned! They were fenced in with a heavy livestock fence that was electrified. I dicovered that a black bear had ripped a good section of the fence down, to get to a snack — my goats! Fortunately, none were hurt but the lesson learned was to not put too much faith in the electric fence. We were grateful the bear did not return, although, he would have made a nice rug.Continue reading“Handling Predators, by Hollyberry”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

The snow at the Rawles Ranch is melting quickly, and The Un-named Rover will probably rise up out of its banks soon. We usually see that in happen March or April, but not in early February.  This has been a very unusual winter!

Working on perfecting our “Frugal Mode”, we’ve set up some new clothes drying racks in our living room. Two of them are free-standing. The other one, purchased via eBay, is a wooden Amish-built folding wall-mounted rack. Mounting the latter was quick and easy. For a strong mount, I just had to be sure to have the two mounting screws hit a stud behind the sheetrock.

This week I did another on-site visit with one of my consulting clients, to discuss the details of some new construction at his retreat.

Now, Lily’s part of the report…Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment?

Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.

Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.

Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.

But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the Lord, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.

Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.” – Micah 3 (KJV) 

Preparedness Notes for Friday — February 2, 2024

On February 2, 1709, British sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by explorer and pirate William Dampier (pictured) after being marooned on a desert island for five years. His story inspired the book “Robinson Crusoe.”

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On February 2, 1980, the FBI‘s undercover criminal investigation known as Abscam was revealed to the public; it resulted in the convictions of various elected officials on an assortment of bribery and corruption charges.

—

On February 2, 1653, New Amsterdam (later named New York City) was incorporated as a city.

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Today we present a guest article by Montana-based economist and commentator Brandon Smith, the editor of Alt-Market.us. Both his free website and his subscription The Wild Bunch Dispatch e-newsletter are highly recommended.

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We are now seeking entries for Round 111 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 111 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced – Round 110

We’ve completed the judging for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  Round 110 began on December 1, 2023, and ended on January 31, 2024. (The contest runs in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 110 are:

First Prize

First Prize goes to A.F., for Winter Plumbing Preparedness, posted on January 13-14, 2024. See: Part 1 and Part 2. He will receive the following prizes:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  5. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
Second Prize

Second Prize goes to Tractorguy, for Easy Home Cheese Making, posted on January 19, 2024. See:  He will receive the following prizes:

  1. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  2. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC.
  4. Montana Survival Seed is providing a $225 gift code for any items on its website, including organic non-GMO seeds, fossils, 1812-1964 US silver, jewelry, botany books, and Montana beeswax.
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!
Third Prize

Third Prize goes to H.F.K, for Haying By Hand, posted on January 20, 2024. See:  She will receive the following prizes:

  1. A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $305 value),
  2. A $300 gift certificate from Good2Goco.com, good for any of their products: Home freeze dryers, pressure canners, Country Living grain mills, Emergency Essentials foods, and much more.
  3. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value.)
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
Honorable Mention

Each Honorable Mention Prize winner has been awarded a transferable and accruable $100 FRN purchase credit toward the purchase of any antique or percussion replica gun from Elk Creek Company.

Honorable Mention Prizes go to the writers of these 11 articles:

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More than $875,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 111 is now underway and will end on March 31st.

A note on a prize substitution, starting with Round 111: Ready Made Resources — one of our very first advertisers and a generous writing contest prize donor since Round 1 in 2005, is now providing a Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA. This is a $359 retail value.

Please get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Cultural Replacement: An Engineered Immigration Crisis, by Brandon Smith

There is absolutely no doubt – Elements of our own government are deliberately encouraging the acceleration of illegal immigration across the southern border and they are actively sabotaging any attempts to stop the madness. There are two questions we need to ask: Why are they doing this? And, what can be done to stop them?’

In a move that I think debunks any claims that the Biden Administration wants a secure border, the federal government recently challenged Texas efforts to install border fencing and barbed wire to prevent the massive influx of foreigners raiding the US. This is after several incidents in which convicted criminals and terrorists have been identified among migrant groups. The measures were working, so obviously, Biden felt the need to intervene.

A majority of the Supreme Court has also taken Biden’s side, forcing Texas Governor Greg Abbott to declare the situation an invasion that threatens the security of his state and America at large. The conflict is leading to a showdown between federal agencies and Texas. I would argue that it is a showdown that NEEDS to happen, the sooner the better.

The expulsion of unwanted or destructive groups of people has been an emergency measure used by civilizations for thousands of years. The cultures that don’t protect their own gates end up being erased or absorbed into a completely different population that may not hold the same values and principles. The majority of nations on the planet today have strict immigration rules, yet, America and the EU are the only regions attacked for wanting to limit the flow of illegals.Continue reading“Cultural Replacement: An Engineered Immigration Crisis, by Brandon Smith”