Burris Signature HD 2-10x40mm Rifle Scope, by Thomas Christianson

In January, I tested Burris’ Signature HD 2-10x40mm rifle scope. It offers a versatile optic with a decent sight picture in an attractive package.

The Ballistic Plex E3 reticle that I tested provides hashmarks on the vertical crosshair calibrated to the ballistic performance of common hunting cartridges, and dots on the horizontal crosshair to compensate for crosswinds in 10 mph increments. Scopes in the Signature HD series are also available with Plex, Fine Plex, and 6.5 Creedmoor reticles.

I had some initial problems in my testing due to an error on my part (I did not tighten the rings sufficiently), but experienced good results after correcting my error.

With an enviable “Forever Warranty” (“No Charge. No warranty card needed. No receipt needed. No questions asked.”), and a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $455, the Signature HD scope may be a good option for deer hunting or similar applications.

The Backstory

I recently received a press release about Burris’ Signature HD2-10X40mm rifle scope. It looked interesting, so I asked Burris if I could borrow a unit for testing and evaluation. They were kind enough to agree. They also offered to provide a set of rings. About a week later the much-anticipated package arrived via UPS.Continue reading“Burris Signature HD 2-10x40mm Rifle Scope, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Balls

The following recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Balls is from SurvivalBlog reader A.S..  It requires no cooking. A.S. notes:  “If you substitute Nutella for the jelly, then you get something that tastes a bit like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.”

Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats, divided
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 6 teaspoons of jam, jelly, or Nutella chocolate cream
Directions
  1. Combine 1 cup oats, peanut butter, and confectioners’ sugar until well blended.
  2. Shape dough into 1-1/4-inch diameter balls.
  3. Flatten the balls into 1/4-inch thick discs.
  4. Place 1/2 teaspoon of jam in center of one disc; wrap dough around jam.
  5. Pinch edges to seal; re-shape into a ball. Repeat with remaining jam and dough.
  6. Roll the balls in the remaining oats.
  7. Chill the separated balls for 30 minutes on waxed paper or cooking parchment on a platter or cookie sheet, in your refrigerator.  No cooking required!

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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!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at expected crashes in commercial and residential real estate. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

What To Expect For Gold If We Enter A Deflationary Period.

o  o  o

Another, at Gold-Eagle.com: Piepenburg, Rule and Rickards Agree: Gold’s Role Rises as Dollar Hegemony Falls.

Economy & Finance:

Billions of dollars are flowing out of Chinese markets in a ‘seismic’ change in capital flows despite a flurry of actions to shore up confidence. A quote:

“Over the weekend, Chinese authorities halved the tax charged on stock trades, called a “stamp duty,” and lowered the amount of collateral a trader has to deposit in order to borrow money to invest in stocks in a bid to “boost investor confidence,” according to a Google translation of a statement from China’s Ministry of Finance. Beijing also asked some mutual funds to avoid being net sellers of equities, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

Despite the moves, foreign investors continue to flee Chinese markets. With Beijing cracking down on foreign consulting firms amid tensions between the U.S. and China and repeatedly requiring investment firms to avoid selling stocks when markets look shaky, investors seem increasingly nervous about the risks of holding capital in China.

In the first half of this year, the number of active China-focused hedge funds fell for the first time in more than a decade. And in the second quarter, direct investment liabilities—a measure of foreign direct investment into China—slumped 87% from a year ago to a record low of $4.9 billion, according to figures released by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Friday.”

o  o  o

National Australia Bank adds mean speech to debanking criteria.

o  o  o

Biden admin mulls more intervention in the market with new overtime pay ‘rules’.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us to restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wildlife and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — September 3, 2023

On September 3rd, 1609, English navigator Henry Hudson, in a quest for a passage to India on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, sailed into the harbor of present-day New York City and up the river that now bears his name.

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I just heard that singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffet passed away, at age 76. He was a great musician and a true American “Character”, in the good sense of the word. Our condolences to his family.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 108 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 $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. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. 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 $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.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

Apple and Pear Harvest, Oh My!, by K.B.

We are definitely nearing tree fruit harvest time in our part of the country. Our orchard includes apples, Asian pears, and European pears. Yum! The only problem is what to do with the blessing of so much bounty. It is a bit intimidating to look around and see ten or more 5-gallon pails of fruit awaiting your attention. What to do? Well, one can share with family, friends, or food pantries for the needy. Hmmm, there is the cold cellar and refrigerator. But, you still want to have some after the fresh fruit is gone so that leaves drying, canning, freezing, and cider production. You, however, want to wait until the fruit is ready for picking. When is that?

Is It Ready Yet?

Our apple trees include Enterprise, Liberty, Arkansas, and Arkansas Black varieties. Each will ripen at its own rate. Occasionally check a windfall apple. Sample it to see if it peels easily and has developed sweet, juicy, flavorful flesh. If not, wait longer. If yes, get to work. There is also the “oh my goodness” test of seeing apples dropping from the tree like rain in a light wind. That tells you that picking time is a rush job *today*.

Useful equipment to have on hand is the following: a sturdy A-frame ladder, an apple picker (metal cage device on the end of a long pole), several clean 5-gallon pails, a smaller bucket, and a helper to serve as your go-for when you are up on the ladder. It is helpful to also have a pick-up truck to stand the ladder in to enable picking the highest fruit! Designate one pail to hold any fruit that falls off the tree as it will be bruised and needs to be used quickly. How to pick the apples? Grasp one in your hand and pull up gently so as to preserve the branch to produce next year’s fruit. Pick apples and carefully place them into the smaller pail. When full, pass it to the helper to gently empty into the larger pails.Continue reading“Apple and Pear Harvest, Oh My!, by K.B.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

How Can the ATF Take the 73-Word Definition of “Engaged In The Business” Established in Law By Congress in 1968

And Expand it to 34,000 Words and Claim that it is Just a “Rulemaking Clarification” Under Chevron Deference?

News Links:

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, provide that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.

 

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” – Matthew 7:1-27 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — September 2, 2023

On September 2nd, 1666, the Great Fire of London began accidentally in the house of the king’s baker; it burned for four days and destroyed a large part of the city, including Old St. Paul’s Cathedral and about 13,000 houses.

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On September 2nd, 1945, World War II came to an end as Japanese Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru and General Umezu Yoshijiro signed Japan’s formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri.

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Today’s feature article was too short to qualify as an entry for Round 108 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

The Death of the Incandescent Lamp, by OhioGalt

I was recently walking through the local Amish hardware and noticed a variety of 12 volt LED lamps with power tool battery adapters for Dewalt and Milwaukee tools. So it seems the Amish have been moving away from the old Aladdin kerosene lamps (which we have a house full of) and more towards modern electric lighting. Along side of the 12volt LED lamps were standard 120v LED and Incandescent lamps. I remembered at that moment our Washington DC administration had quietly banned the sale of Incandescent lamps as of August 1 of this year. My guess is the Amish probably continued to sell the remaining stock in defiance of the ban because checking the local big box stores, standard lamps could not be be found.

Doing some research on the ban, it only includes standard-size household lamps such as 40 and 60 watt bulbs. The banning of higher wattage light bulbs started in 2007 when then President Bush signed the “Energy Independence and Security Act” which would start banning 100 watt light bulbs in 2012 and later in 2014 the 75 watt light bulb. The remaining lamp wattages were to be banned in 2017 but was blocked by President Trump and was overturned by the Biden administration in 2022. I had to laugh when ran across an article from a somewhat liberal website with the comment “No, Incandescent light bulbs aren’t banned, they just do not meet the efficiency standard”. I guess writing new rules to eliminate something that has been available for over 100 years is another way to say “banned”. The new rules require a standard light bulb to provide 45 lumens per watt while the current design only provides about 15 lumens per watt.Continue reading“The Death of the Incandescent Lamp, by OhioGalt”

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:

We had several nice soaking rain showers in the past week. That rainfall should give our pastures a chance for one more spurt of growth before the fall cold weather arrives. Hopefully, that grass will minimize the amount of hay needed for our cattle, until October.

I wrapped up the annual firewood project this week. It feels good to have it all safely stacked and ready for winter.

With more rain in the forecast, I have tarped all of my slash piles, to make them easier to burn, come October.   Wet slash piles take a lot of dyed diesel or propane torch fuel to get them burning, and that is a needless expense. So, I’ve developed the habit of tarping slash piles. There is something gratifying about a “one-match touch-off”.

I’ve been busier than usual with consulting work, both on the phone and face-to-face. This has meant some extra driving for me in north Idaho and northwestern Montana.  Many of my clients are telling me the same thing: Recent events and public discourse at the national level have them feeling increasingly anxious about getting their preps squared away.  Three of them used the same phrase: “Time is short.”  Clearly, food, fuel, ammunition, and night vision gear are all high on their priority lists. My advice: Buy them now, while they are still relatively inexpensive and plentiful.  Long-term storage food, in particular, is at risk of selling out quickly, in the event of a crisis.  Presently, there are no significant shortages of storage foods. But that could change just about overnight, because it is a thin market. A rush of orders could quickly have them quoting a six-month or longer order backlog.

Early in the week, I helped my eldest son Jonathan with the final edit of his new relocation e-book. That is available as a free PDF download.  And Jonathan tells me that his SurvivalRealty.com business is picking up.  Higher interest rates have made fewer buyers qualify for mortgages, so rural retreat properties are staying on the market longer. I’ve also heard that the ongoing rollout of the Starlink satellite constellation is making very remote properties more viable as “work-from-home” retreats.  This is having a profound effect on the rural real estate market.

Now, on to Lily’s part of the report…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house?

And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king’s house,

(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.

And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.

And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,

And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,

And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,

Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.

These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.” – 1 Kings 9:1-23 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — September 1, 2023

Well, here it is folks: Yesterday (August 31, 2023), the Biden Regime announced that it is attempting to redefine “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, radically amplifying and expanding the wording of the Gun Control Act of 1968.  This proposed rulemaking is a clear violation of the Second Amendment, the 4th Amendment, the 10th Amendment, the Interstate Commerce Clause, the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, and the Separation of Powers clauses (Article I.S1.3.1) of the Constitution. (Only Congress can create new laws.) The 90-day comment period is now open.

Because the Bidenistas are likely to ignore the public’s objections received in the comments — just like they ignored then with their Chevron Deference-based rules on Bump Stocks, Frames/Receivers, Forced Rest Triggers, and Arm Braces — I anticipate that this 108-page proposed rule will become “law” before the end of 2023.  This rule will absolutely destroy gun shows, as we now know them.  (See the rule text.) Therefore, I strongly recommend that you accelerate your private party purchasing of guns to round out your personal collection — if your state law allows it.  (Private party sales are still legal in about 33 States.) Plan to attend a lot of gun shows before the end of the year.  Beware: The firearms purchase privacy window is about to close. So, stock up!

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On September 1, 1985, in a search led by American oceanographer Robert Ballard, the wreck of the Titanic was found on the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet. (4,000 meters.)

September is Kilted to Kick Cancer Month.

September is also National Preparedness Month — or, as some call it: “Preptember.”

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Today we are also featuring the monthly precious metals review column that is kindly authored just for SurvivalBlog by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins.  If you haven’t yet visited their website, then take a look. They have a geat selection of bullion and numismatic coins at very competitive prices.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 108 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 $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. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. 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 $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.
  2. 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)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, 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.

Training Your Puppy, by Hollyberry

There are many articles on how to train a dog for home protection but not much on training for a basic house pet. I have had many dogs through the years. I even once showed a bull terrier for several years but would not care to ever do that again due to the politics of the dog show world. I had hired a dog trainer to help me and she informed me that she was not training my dog but training me. It would do no good for the dog to listen to her and not me. The skills I learned are portable from dog to dog so it was a worthwhile investment. Some pet stores offer puppy training classes also if you need some help.

All dogs can be protective in nature. Some breeds make a much better guard dog but your average family wants a well-behaved house pet that will not maul visitors but will discourage break-ins and get between you and your kids and some thug. The dog doesn’t have to be huge or any particular breed to be a great house companion and protector. It’s instinctive behavior. Our Jack Russell terror (not Terrier) is proof of this. She is 13 lbs and fearless and even scares us sometimes!Continue reading“Training Your Puppy, by Hollyberry”

August 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affect gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in August?

The triple whammy of higher bond yields, lower oil prices, and a surging dollar worked to depress gold prices in the middle of the month, causing spot gold to close under $1,900 from the 16th to the 22nd. An unexpectedly soft PMI report on the 23rd finally lifted the foot of bond yields off the neck of gold as the dollar also eased. This gave gold a $23 boost that it rode into the end of the month.

COMEX gold futures moved to the December contract on the first of the month, instantly creating a $40 spread versus the spot price. This was good news for gold investors, as it signaled that traders expected gold to be $40 higher by the end of the year.Continue reading“August 2023 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”