Letter Re: The Fallacy of Hunting as a Survival Technique

Sir,

I have been concerned about the mindset of hunting in national crisis for some time. The general assumption that one can hunt to feed one’s family long term is likely to prove empty. I had the privilege of living with my grandmother just after I was released from submarine duty. We spent many evenings talking about the old days and the days to come. She bore 12 children and was in her 30’s during the depression. My grandfather was a wood-walking, ax toting lumberman. He managed mills all over Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. My grandmother ran the mill store and home.

Her words hit home with me back in the 80’s because I wanted to homestead, and she gave me the guidance I needed to move in the right direction. The secret to living during the depression was to grow it and keep close tabs on everything. She told me that two mules and a wagon was cheaper to keep than a truck. She said they were fed well because they kept a sizable garden and canned everything. Fruit from fruit trees provided the desserts. She kept chickens galore (over 120) and a cow in the yard to butcher once a year or so. She also said that there was no money, none extra that is, just barely enough to pay the rent (few people owned), and the things they had they wore out and made do, repaired along the way, and reused. Nothing was ever thrown away. And finally to my point: they didn’t hunt…there wasn’t anything to hunt. She said all the coons, possums, deer, bobcats, squirrels, and other critters were hunted out by the end of ’31. And too, shells cost too much! She said people ate anything they could kill; animals that you wouldn’t consider edible, people would kill. There were no strays.

This fact was driven home when I attended a Hunter’s Safety Course that year. The instructor told us that Bag Limits were instituted in their present form in 1939 as a means to bring back the wildlife numbers. He also stated that the deer population dropped 90% during those years, and it was likely that other wildlife were that low, too.

When one considers that we now have double the human population and probably many times the number of hunters that hunted in 1931 not to mention better training and equipment, the possibility for even half of the hunting population to feed their families seems to lack a sense of reality. I also believe that hungry hunting people will not be on their best behavior in a WROL reality. Hunting in any area will require a Battle Buddy to cover my 6 while I bring home the bacon.

I believe I will put my hunting skills to use on guilty looking chickens, goats, and cows in MY back yard! Until then: Good Hunting and be safe! Subdrvr from Bama

Economics and Investing:

Greek Banks Admit To Charging Customers To Exchange Big Bills For Smaller Ones – G.G.

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Bernanke: Monetary Policy ‘Reaching Its Limits’ – Isn’t this what Japan said right before going negative. “We are not considering negative rates”…

Silver Soars Post-Fed As Gold Ratio Tumbles Most In 5 Months

Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Obamacare Enrollment to Cap at Estimated 14.7 Million Americans (Washington Free Beacon) Excerpt: “Absent a substantial boost in outreach or changes to the subsides to make insurance more affordable, substantial increases in marketplace enrollment are unlikely.”

CCAGW Releases 2015 Congressional Ratings (Citizens Against Government Waste) Excerpt: “The report, which CCAGW has issued since 1989, identifies members whose voting records helped protect and save the taxpayers’ money, as well as those who consistently voted against their interests.”

Electricity Cut Off For Puerto Rico Hospital That Owed $4M (NBC News)

Lawmaker: Fannie, Freddie Sowing Seeds for Next Crisis (Washington Examiner)

International News

IMF Says World at Risk of Economic Derailment (BBC News) Excerpt: “We are clearly at a delicate juncture….”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

The Retirement Crisis is Getting Truly Scary (Business Insider)

Debt Collection Call (Identity Theft Resource Center) Excerpt: “If someone calls and states that you owe on a bill you were unaware of, get their contact information and then hang up. Check your free credit reports by going to annualcreditreport.com….”

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Build your own mini wind turbine from printer parts – Sent in by M.H.

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An interesting perspective on our modern society: Feudalism – Then & Now – B.B.

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When will they learn that attempting to ban guns won’t stop the violence? Increase in stabbings in NYC – P.S.

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Sent in by JFJ: Youmerica – “[This] is the nightmare of the Founding Fathers come to life. ‘We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion,’ John Adams warned. ‘Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.’ The same is true of all the rest of it.”

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Including the Ocean Floor, the Feds Own Much More Land than You Think – B.B.

Notes for Saturday – March 19, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. 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).

Round 63 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.

Backup Electric Power Design Considerations- Part 1, by Duliskov

This article covers a complex area, and to keep myself focused I will break it into three sections. In the following I would like to share what I learned researching and building an emergency power station. The content below assumes that the reader understands the basics of electricity (AC and DC), batteries, and solar power. I have no affiliation with any of the sellers of products I provided links to; the links are for your convenience only. I have no engineering degree and reserve the right to be completely wrong. It is possible to build the systems in many different alternative ways. My approach may not be the optimal one, but it should get you started.

General Advice

Building a flexible backup power station is an expensive proposition. Therefore, you would want to understand your power consumption and true needs, how the system is sized and configured, and how to optimize its use and build a low-maintenance system. You would benefit from building it yourself, because this will allow easy re-configuration, extension, and troubleshooting. Also in the process of acquiring equipment, materials, and skills, you will establish valuable relationships with suppliers and professionals that could benefit your other projects as well.

You will be working with strong DC currents and high voltage AC, so be very careful and thoughtful how you approach your work. Plan ahead each step. If possible have someone with you who can give you a hand or call for help if you get yourself in trouble.

The most important decision you will have to make is what type of power disruption you are planning to handle. It is unlikely that electronics in chargers and inverters will survive an EMP/solar flare event; therefore, prepping for that event with any substantial power generating capability is basically out of the question for an average person. While newer battery chemistries offer significant advantages over lead acid batteries, they are more susceptible to an EMP/solar flare event, because the battery bank requires extensive electronic monitoring/management/balancing to avoid catastrophic failures and to maximize efficiency. These regulators are either built into each individual battery or are in a central unit. The lead acid batteries do not have or need any built-in electronics.

You may wish to live off-grid, and then you need a self-sustaining system with renewable energy source. If you prepare for short duration outages, at most a few weeks, you can make compromises and rely on a single source of energy to replenish your batteries or you may not even need a battery bank and could just store enough fuel for a good quality generator. You may want to use the system only in an event, or you may wish to reduce your electrical bill by running your alternative energy producing equipment constantly. The easiest way to see how much energy you are currently using is to check your average daily consumption over a period of one year to account for AC and heating needs. I can assure you, you will not be able to generate that much energy on your own consistently! You will have to make choices. Also, do not count on the system paying for itself; emergency power backup is an insurance policy. You will be disappointed at the rate it can save you money. It may not be much, and it can be protracted over a long period of time. All those considerations are tough ones. If you have a set budget, whatever you spend on electric backup you would not be spending on food, security, et cetera. Make sure you have your priorities set right. You may also want to think about mobility, because covering your roof with solar panels or erecting a huge wind turbine will not help you if you have to abandon your compound.

Subsequently, you need to decide how much power you wish to use (power your entire house, just a fridge, or just your cell phone/radio) and what type of power (115 Volts, 240 Volts, multiple phases, et cetera). I do not think that very powerful generators are truly necessary unless you know for sure you will use their full power all of the time. They are heavy, noisy, fuel hungry, and costly. You can always add a second generator as needed, especially if they are of the variety that can synch together, a.k.a. parallel kit. You can easily plot power consumption using computerized meters, which will allow you to plan for peak power (driving your inverter decision) and how much on average each appliance uses (determining useful capacity of the battery bank).

Figure-1

Figure 1. Example of energy consumption of my Haier 1.5cft HLP23E Compact Pulsator Washer on Cycle 04 Quick Wash program. You could see that it only used 46 Watt/Hours, but the peak wattage was over 800 Watts.

There are on-line calculators as well, but best practice is to measure your own appliances you are actually planning to use.

The next question to answer is how automated you want to be. There are transfer switches that will instantaneously engage a battery bank, in case utility power is gone and in the meantime start your generator, and when it stabilizes, the switch will transfer the load to the generator and start charging the batteries automatically. This will ensure unattended instantaneous failover. Alternatively, if you protect your sensitive equipment individually with UPSes, then you can get away with a manual transfer switch, because beeping of UPSes will wake you up at night, and you will have at least 10-15 minutes to switch your loads to the battery bank and subsequently to the generator in the morning or let your solar panels take over as the sun rises.

A transfer switch is a must to protect utility workers working on the lines. The transfer switch ensures that your generator cannot be fed back into the line, thereby hurting anyone. Please never ever plug the generator/inverter into your home electrical outlets bypassing a transfer switch. This is very dangerous. Even if you know what you are doing, you may not be around when someone else makes a mistake costing a life!

Manual transfer switchesare relatively inexpensive, and the outside power inlet box will let you connect your split phase generator to feed your critical loads safely with a single properly rated cable.

Lastly, the budget will restrict what you can do. I suggest going slow on a tight budget but buying quality parts and tools. Start with the component you will see a return on immediately. For example, if you plan to lower your electric bill, start with solar panels, wind turbine, or hydro-power and an inverter self-synchronizing to the grid. If you are primarily concerned about functional sump pumps and fridge, start with a battery bank and inverter that has a built in transfer switch and add ability to generate power later. If you want to survive a short outage but don’t have the skill to build a complex electric system, just buy a good inverter generator, focus on storing fuel, and invest in a transfer switch. Don’t forget to rotate gasoline and stabilize it. Propane can be stored indefinitely, and there are tri-fuel generators that will run on any fuel. Never store flammable fuel in a garage or basement; always store it in an outside shed, away from your living quarters.

If you are just now planning to build a retreat location from scratch, consider adding DC wiring in addition to AC wiring. This will afford flexibility to run your DC appliances without any intermediate conversion of energy.

Not all energy must be centralized. For example, having small motion-activated battery-powered lights throughout your house or headlamps will save you from running wires in each room. Battery-powered tools will allow you to work as long as you have the ability to recharge them. Make sure you have enough chargers to charge all your batteries simultaneously, if you go that route, because it makes little sense to run a generator for eight hours just to charge several sets of AA batteries. Also, make sure your chargers like the quality of the power from your generator. (There’s more on this later.)

Before you invest in alternative energy, check availability of U.S. Department of Energy incentives and other local programs that may help offset the cost.

Electric Energy Generation

The four basic forms of electrical energy generation are solar, wind, hydro, and thermal (internal combustion, not geothermal, which is not covered here). All of them utilize at least one transformation of energy, for example chemical into thermal, thermal into mechanical and then mechanical into electric energy. Solar converts photon energy directly into electrical power. There is loss of energy starting with capturing the initial energy fully and subsequently at each transformation, and lastly in the electrical wires connecting the source to the load. If the energy is stored and retrieved later, there is an additional loss. The electrical power is typically converted in the end into mechanical motion, light, and heat also with less than 100% efficiency. As you can imagine, 90% of the wind power hitting the turbine or solar energy falling onto solar panels may be lost in the process.

From the perspective of preparedness, solar and hydro generation are the most “concealable”, while wind turbines are visible landmarks and gas/propane/diesel generators attract attention with noise.

Wind, solar, and hydro are renewable but not available 24/7. Generators can run day and night as long there is fuel. If you chose to use a gas-powered generator, make sure you store ethanol-free gas (find stations selling it using “Pure Gas” iPhone or Android app) and add a stabilizer or similar. Store fuel away from the house, and rotate it at least annually. Note the fuel components differ in the summer and winter version of the same grade of fuel. I don’t know which is better from a long-term storage perspective store, and I store fuel that I buy in autumn, so I don’t have to deal with cold cans in the winter.

Operationally and to extend the use of stored fuel, it is best to have multiple energy sources. For example, solar can power utilities and charge batteries during the mid-day, and a generator can supplement that and charge batteries when there is less sun. Larger generators, above 3KW can simultaneously charge a large battery bank and supply energy to utilities. Generators run most efficiently near full capacity; they consume a bit more fuel, but the energy produced will require less fuel per kWh. Therefore, it is best to run them for a short period of time, at most a few hours, but load them with charging batteries, powering fridge/freezer, water heaters, lights, washer, power tools, etc. to full capacity. Then switch to battery power and only use the minimal load to last through next generator cycle or solar/wind opportunity.

Letter Re: EoTech

Fitzy in PA is worried about his EoTechs. There really isn’t anything to be worried about unless he finds himself in extremely cold weather. The zero shift that is the subject of the military’s concern only happens in extremely cold environments. It has recently come to light that Trijicon’s MRO also suffers from Thermal drift. Since Thermal drift is across almost all optics, anything you put on your rifle has the potential to have the same problem as the EoTech. My EoTechs have served me well in any weather I have had them in in SW PA. Keep your EoTechs and as with any optic, re-zero if you change climates significantly. As JWR stated, L3 isn’t going out of business over this. That they offered a refund to anyone who no longer had confidence in their product is outstanding customer service in my opinion. I’m hoping to take advantage of well below cost used EoTechs as they come up for sale by those who panic over the viability of their safe queen’s optic. I’ll keep mine and buy more. – Rick in PA.

Economics and Investing:

Largest U.S. Coal Producer Skips Interest Payment, Warns Of Bankruptcy; Stock Crashes – B.B.

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Companies to reduce employment in 2016? – P.S.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

The Liquidity Endgame Begins: Whitings Revolver Cut by $1.2B as Banks Start Slashing Credit Lines (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: “But while lender banks are all too eager to take advantage of the brief surge in equity prices just so they can “help” their clients dilute their shareholder base so to repay the very same lender banks, they know quite well that the equity offering window is rapidly closing; in fact it will slam shut as soon as the price of oil resumes its downward trajectory.” Warning: Commentary following the article may contain bad language and/or inappropriate avatar images.

Court Decision Could Accelerate Oil and Gas Bankruptcies (Oil Price) Excerpt: “…Where a New York judge ruled that bankruptcy allows Sabine to cancel contracts it holds with midstream firms on the company’s petroleum licenses in Texas. Here’s why this is a sea change….”

International News

One of the Top Hedge Funds of 2016 is Betting on a Crisis that Blindsides Everyone (Business Insider) Excerpt: “Japan has been an economy that’s living on borrowed time via hidden nonperforming loans and irregular accounting of equity gains as interest income.” Read on….

Japan January Core Machinery Orders Leap, Underlying Trend Seen Flat (Reuters)

Italy Sells 3-Year Debt with Negative Yield for the First Time (Bloomberg) Excerpt: “With bonds supported by the latest package of stimulus from the European Central Bank, the October 2018 securities were sold with an average yield of minus 0.05 percent.”

Italy’s BPER to Sell Bad Loans Worth About 900 Million Euros: Sources (Reuters)

Personal Economics and Household Finance

How to Avoid Newbie Fruit Gardener Mistakes and Save Money (Little House Living)

Pea Pointers (Learn2Grow) Excerpt: “Snap and snow peas have their advocates, but for me, a large bowl of freshly and lightly cooked green garden peas is nothing short of pure luxury.”

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Wondering how to generate a little extra cash to top off your preps? Do you really need those old VHS tapes? 5 eBay hot sellers that are collecting dust in your home right now – B.L.

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Computers are great until they have a “glitch”. Seems that’s what it’s always called when there’s an issue, not that they are broken! Mechanical really is better in the long run, but it seems the whole infrastructure system of everything relies on computers now. Mystery glitch’s return knocks out BART cars, snarls commute – D.S.

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Your Data Footprint Is Affecting Your Life In Ways You Can’t Even Imagine. Big brother really is watching, but it’s more than just big government. It’s big business. – P.S.

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This is the phone NSA suggested Clinton use: A $4,750 Windows CE PDA – T.Z.

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Government database abused! Call the cops! Oh, wait… Confidential Database Use By Cops to Stalk Women is Widespread and Goes Unpunished – D.B.

Notes for Friday – March 18, 2016

March 18th is the birthday of novelist John Updike. (He was born in 1932. He died in 2009.)

It is also the birthday of Luc Besson .

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Seed for Security is having a great sale. Their Super Survival pack is now 20% off. It contains a total of four pounds of survival seeds and two pints of healthful grains. All of their seed is heirloom, non GMO, and none are hybrid. In these uncertain times heirloom seeds just may be more valuable than gold! This offer is for a limited time.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. 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).

Round 63 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.

The Fallacy of Hunting as a Survival Technique, by D.V.

Many people rely on wild game as a regular part of their diet. In Michigan, where I live, deer season is a holiday with schools and companies at minimal staff, as a healthy part of the population is out in the woods partaking in one of our oldest traditions. And like all great endeavors, some hunters are successful and some are not, depending upon skill, preparation, and just a little bit of luck. For those hunters who were able to kill a deer (if they are traditionalist), they are able to provide their families with meat. For some, this can be the majority of their meat throughout the year.

During our lifetimes, whether you’re a hunter or not, it is easy to recognize that the overall deer population has been steadily growing. In the news, there are occasional stories about the deer wandering into human dwellings or the suburbs who must have a culling (with the routine senseless protests) due to overpopulation. This deer population has been growing steady since the early 1900’s, starting from a count of under five million (including mule deer and blacktail) and growing to around a peak of over 40 million. Today it is estimated that there are approximately 35 million deer in the lower 48 states. The same population growth can be attributed to most wild game (aside from pheasants) due to good game laws and a civil populace that not only adheres to these laws but also actively promotes healthy game levels. Older hunters tell stories of not seeing deer for years. A generation ago, deer hunting was a greater challenge and as much about comradery and tradition as the hunt itself.

Again, we will use deer hunting as an example. The laws designed around deer hunting are designed to ensure a growing population. A larger amount of tags are given around bucks during the rut (mating season) with a very limited amount of doe tags. This allows the deer to breed and reproduce, and the population does not diminish and could potentially grow as a doe can have multiple fawns. If the buck population dwindles, a single buck can impregnate several does, and nature will remedy the situation. These laws have been enacted since the 1900’s and continue to get stronger. States have made an effort to restock animals, allowing wild game to return to areas where they were completely wiped out. These population have grown and expanded and moved into other regions. There are government agencies dedicated to managing this population and making sure hunters have every opportunity to bag game, and it is clear that today’s deer population is very healthy, not only because of these laws but hunters who follow them.

Many preppers, homesteaders, and just regular people are counting on this abundance of game to continue. However, if you are counting on this as one of your key survival methods, I would urge you to reconsider. There is an ancient proverb that is almost too relevant: “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” Realize that having your own animals will be a much more consistent source of protein instead of hunting. During a TEOTWAWKI event, game animals will become sparse.

During TEOTWAWKI, it is expected that government agencies will either be non-existent or in an extreme state of panic and enforcement. Funding for all but the essentials disappear. Any funding for non-critical programs, such as game management and land development, will end. This would not impact the animal population immediately but will cause a reduction in the health of the herds and be detrimental overall. In addition, game wardens would be drafted into full-time law enforcement or be unemployed. There will be no one to determine the amount of deer tags allowed, much less population enhancement. The local DNR also does a fairly good job of minimizing disease in the herd. These issues would be unchecked in a TEOTWAWKI event.

Another key consideration for TEOTWAWKI would be the lack of food. There will be many people looking to feed their families. With other laws being disregarded, it would not be difficult to poach a deer and provide meat for their families. Many will be wantonly wasteful as the first few deer will be easy; there will be a lack of skill at cleaning the game and a dearth of refrigeration. Some may believe people will be nobler and not poach, but history proves otherwise. The last time our country was in a situation that was even close to TEOTWAWKI was the Great Depression. It was during this time that the deer population fell to the lowest levels in history. It was only through great efforts that the deer were able to rebound, and while they have returned to pre-1900 levels, the human population which was below 100 million in the early 1900’s is now over 300 million. If a tenth of the human population can successfully hunt deer the entire population would be completely wiped out. This has happened before, and there is no reason to believe it would not happen again. Some animals, such as the bison, will most likely never recover. If the great cities are starving, think about all the Canadian Geese sitting on a golf courses and suburban water retention ponds that people constantly complain about. How many would disappear in a day or in a week?

There is also a small portion of the human population that are pirates. They have no respect or consideration for anything and will use the lack of regulation and oversight to abuse the world around them. There are concerns about the golden horde and other permeations of this group and how they will treat people and property in their path. They will have the same impact on the natural world around them and will kill for sport and pleasure. While they are in the minority, the longer they persist without rules, the greater their negative impact which will outweigh the average person by far.

As any good deer hunter will tell you, opening day is the best day of the hunt. This is the single largest day for number of kills. Why? Deer are survivalist as well, and up here they become rare once they realize there are hunters in the woods. We call it “spooked”. They know something is hunting them, and the smartest and oldest of the deer become nocturnal or extra careful. Because of the rut, they still make mistakes and are harvested, but even then they can still be jittery. Living in the country, the deer remained spooked for several months and really do not start to relax until the following spring and summer. If the deer were continually hunted, they would become much warier of humans. Unfortunately, this would not stop hungry people who could use means that are now illegal, including spotlighting, dog running, snares, and even night vision gear to hunt deer, driving the surviving population to remote areas where there are fewer humans. Deer have very good senses and can also run exceedingly quick. The more they are spooked, the less you will see of them.

For non-deer hunters, hunting appears easy, especially if you watch hunting shows on TV, but the reality is that it takes a lot of time and energy to hunt a deer. Most successful deer hunters invest time and money in preparing for and carrying out the hunt. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, the time and energy will be multiplied for all the reasons discussed above. Hunting today is a way to relax as a hobby or pastime; however, when your survival is on the line, you will need to make wiser decisions on how to spend your time. In addition it can be frustrating and taxing during an already difficult time when potential days are wasted on hopes for food that is unfulfilled.

Interestingly, predators have greatly expanded their range as well, following the growth of game population. Coyotes can be found almost anywhere, including within the big cities, where they follow the waterways to the greenspaces. There are only a small handful of people that I know who eat predator meat, even among hunters. In the past, there were bounties on coyotes and wolves by states and local hunting groups. Today, only a few states have a bounty system, and it is mostly ignored. While the game populations will be hunted for food, it will be only under extreme hunger that a predator will be hunted for food. In modern culture predators are romanticized by most people, and they will only be hunted by those who are raising livestock or by those who understand their impact on wildlife populations, or lastly by those who are in fear of them due to the current situation. Attacks on humans are fairly rare now with only one death attributed to coyotes and several attacks over the last decade. This is already changing, as the true coyote is being replaced by the coywolf– a natural coyote wolf cross breed. According to the science behind it, coyotes reproduce faster and the coywolf is filling the gap of the larger predator that is fairly vacant. Coyotes and coywolves also have little fear of humans, although they keep their distance. While the stay away from hunters, they will take advantage of easy targets, and again it is documented that they live alongside humans even in places like Chicago. In TEOTWAWKI the coyotes, especially in urban areas, will have rats and turned out unwanted pets to continue to live off of, but as game is hunted for food there will be an unpleasant combination of greater demand for the game as well as greater opportunities for coyotes and humans to cross paths.

My last consideration with any game is that it will require you to be proficient with a weapon and use ammo. Again, most hunters take time to scope in their weapons and practice a few times a year. While feeding yourself and your family is primary importance, the ammunition that you would otherwise use may have greater value in trade or defense than in providing additional game. This is really the least of my concerns but is worth mentioning as this will be a highly unpredictable time and SurvivalBlog is about allowing us to think through as many scenarios as possible.

With all the above considered, location will be helpful and allow a longer potential for game. The more remote you are from a population, the less pressure on the game animals. Additionally, in remote areas people tend to have homesteader traits with food stocks and gardens. While the pressure would surely increase on the game, it will not be as dramatic as to the areas with heavy human populations.

Mental flexibility will also be key. Many people will be hunting for deer and turkey, elk and rabbit, letting opossums and raccoons go by. Squirrels are a great source of protein and very tasty. It would be my expectation that the non-traditional game animals will be around longer. Better than hunting would be the knowledge of trapping and snaring. This would eliminate the need for time and greatly minimize the expense of ammunition. This, too, is a skill that does not come easy and would still feel the impacts of a dwindling population.

To close, hunting is truly a variable, not a constant and cannot be relied upon. In the short term, especially for established and experienced hunters, you will be able to supplement your pantry with wild game. However, as a TEOTWAWKI event endures, game populations will be dramatically reduced. Like farmers of old, the only reliable source of protein is that which you yourself have raised. This does not mean that all game will be unavailable. This does not mean that you will not occasionally be able to supplement your larder. It does mean that you should not count on it as a preparation technique. Hunting will still exist, but it will require greater costs for diminishing returns.

Avalanche Lily’s Morning Dew: The Mark of the Beast Explained

Good Morning! Since high school, I have been aware that we’re living in the last days. Through the years I’ve been a watchwoman reading many prophetic articles and magazines. I’ve also been a news junkie watching world events, and Israel in particular. In doing this, I’ve continually sifted through the information, watched the times, and measured the progress of the One World Order, the Mark of the Beast, and Cashless society.

I’ve always wondered how and when it would happen. Nearly all of the world’s population has electricity and can go digital with the enabling technologies of wireless Internet, cell phones, and cell phone card readers. With our horrendous out-of-control National Debt, the slowing economy, and negative interest rates, I see clearly that we are right now on the cusp of going cashless. This would allow the ushering in of the Mark of the Beast. If you’ve been paying attention to the mainstream news and alternative new websites, there have been a whole slew of articles written in the last month which explore the coming cashless society and Mark of the Beast. The best of these that I’ve read is Ann Barnhardt’s article, that expounds on amongst other reasons why Satan wants us to receive the Mark.

I found her essay to be so incredibly insightful that I read it aloud to our children, since we’re currently studying economics using Richard Mayberry’s text Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?. Ann’s essay wonderfully dovetailed into these economics studies and our interest in Last Days events.

Here are some specific passages that she wrote that I wish to emphasize, which illustrates the truth of how the use of cash is a gift of God and facilitates man’s God–given freedom versus how a cashless society is the tool of Satan, which will be used to monitor, enslave, control, and force many to worship him. (Please take the time to read Ann’s entire article. I have quoted her extensively—pushing the limits of our Fair Use privilege–because she articulated so many important truths, which we need to remember and understand.)

Ann’s thoughts on our economic mess:

“This is an equation, (MV=PQ: money times velocity equals price times quantity) and thus it must ALWAYS, ALWAYS BALANCE.  This is mathematical reality. To deny it is to deny the very metaphysical foundations of the universe.  But, in today’s sick, depraved world, people have been contra-educated and indoctrinated to believe that even the laws of mathematics are non-rigid and malleable according to the whims of man.  But mathematics is a subset of reality, and reality is God, so to cross math is to spit at God Himself.  And God will not be mocked. Math always wins.”[Emphasis added}

…

“We have already established that money itself is a fungible proxy for man’s capacity to labor, produce and create through time.  Let’s call that MAN’S EXISTENCE. We are created by God, and we exist through time.  We can labor, produce and create and be paid MONEY for our labor or production in time.  When we save money, we are saving up weeks, months and years of our life.  When we spend money, we are exchanging periods of time in our life for goods and services that we need (such as food, clothing and shelter) or want (like everything else). When we give money away in an act of charity, we are giving someone else a piece of our very life.”

…

“Do you realize what VELOCITY is? VELOCITY OF MONEY is nothing less than a manifestation of man’s God-given FREE WILL.   Velocity is a manifestation of man’s freedom to choose what he does with the fruits of his labor and creativity – his very existence through time. [Emphasis added] Does he spend?  Does he save? Does he invest? Does he tithe or give alms?”

…

Velocity speaks to the dignity of man in the sense that God created man with free will, and thus able to love – and even though we are talking about Monetary Theory, when you drill down on these concepts, where you always, always end up is at LOVE”

…

“In a cashless environment where all money and all transactions are electronic, the state can dictate HOW MUCH you can spend, and WHAT YOU CAN SPEND IT ON.  Oh, yes.  They fully intend to keep printing Money – the lion’s share of which winds up in their pockets – by CONTROLLING VELOCITY, WHICH MEANS CONTROLLING ALL SPENDING BY FORCE.”  

…

“Satan, the father of all lies, and the father of all of this, hiding in the shadows, would like nothing more than to pummel all of humanity into believing that they are nothing more than chattel who can only submit to him and serve his cult like dumb animals, and certainly never achieve that which he himself can never, ever have: the Beatific Vision.  Heaven.  God”[emphasis added]

These truths should be taught diligently to your children…memorized, in fact. The scriptures command us to get wisdom and get understanding! I highly recommend that you read Ann’s article in full to your older children. I also very highly recommend that from greater economic understanding that you read Richard Mayberry’s book Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?, also for ages 12 to adult. This book is a great introductory course in Austrian Economics, which is written in a very easy to understand manner. Once you’ve read this first book in his series, then I’m sure that you’ll want to read all of them.

Getting Ready

I don’t hold the Rapture View that God will take us out of here before a time of tribulation. I truly wish God would, but I expect we’ll be living through this time in history. Therefore, as believers in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, we know we absolutely cannot take the “chip/biometrics”. And so we must count the cost. We will not be able to buy or sell, hold a job, receive medical care, or perhaps even be allowed to retain our property—since we won’t be able to pay property tax without the mark. Therefore we must prepare accordingly: spiritually and physically. We must grow our own fruits and vegetables, raise our own meat, stock up on canned goods and other items that can be bartered. Jim’s favorite: ammo!

We need to develop friends and connections to barter with to help us survive. We must know first aid and have medical supplies, et cetera on hand, and be prepared for home birth, homeschooling, home doctoring, and emergency dentistry, home dairying, home apiaries, and practical home-based businesses with bartering potential. (Think in terms of items people want and need, other than arts and crafts.) We must know our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights so that we can know what freedom truly is and continue to fight for it. My fellow Americans: Redeem your education and memorize these important documents. Teach them diligently to your children. Most importantly, we must know God’s Word and His ways and trust in Him for our very lives. Ask Him for guidance every day, and He will show you His path for you. – Avalanche Lily

Letter: AR-15 Improvements

Hugh,

When the M16A2 was introduced, many of us felt it was not an improvement. The heavy match barrel made the rifle feel about the same weight loaded as the old M1 Garand. Additionally, it offered no real improvement in accuracy. I could argue that many shot worse, due to the additional weight. The need for a heavy barrel is non existent unless you are doing about 10 or so full auto mag dumps. The heavy barrel came to be when somebody, most likely the USMC, wanted to use a heavier grained bullet for further range and accuracy. Combat effectiveness was found to be reduced though. And now we have what we have in the M16A3, M16A4, and the M4 series. For most preppers I highly recommend a standard weight barrel, which most call a pencil weight. They are starting to make a comeback and for good reason. I went backwards also and my go-to AR is an old SP1 Colt collapsible. It works and weighs nothing. I got it cheap, as it has cosmetic blems on the receiver. Try a pencil weight; you can carry more ammo. – An old paratrooper

Economics and Investing:

AEP: US inflation rears its ugly head as global cycle nears danger zone – G.G.

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What Happens When Walmart Dumps You – RBS

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

US Tornadoes, Storms in February May Cost More than $1B (Bloomberg) Excerpt: “The U.S. suffered the most February tornadoes since 2008, with storms hitting the Plains, Midwest, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, the London-based insurance broker said Tuesday in a report. Heavy snow, ice and hail also caused wreckage across the country.”

Our Dangerous Reality (US News & World Report) Excerpt: “In terms of potentially large-to-catastrophic events, there are five possible incidents that could meaningfully impact the economy, cause deep uncertainty for business and consumers and result in significant loss of life and property. The likelihood of these events happening is low, but, because the consequences are high, we need to be prepared to deal with them.”

International News

China Economy: Slow Output Fuels Global Economic Recovery Fears (BBC) Excerpt: “Production rose by 5.4% in January and February – the worst since 2008.”

China’s Looming Currency Crisis (The Wall Street Journal) Excerpt: “Mass capital outflows continue despite stymied Beijing’s efforts to boost the economy. Expect the yuan to tumble.” Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-on and/or subscription service for access to some content.

China Weights Letting Banks Sell Bad Debt to Investors (New York Times)

Personal Economics and Household Finance

The Average American’s Saving Habits – 9 Scary Statistics (Fox News Business)

Financial Advisers Worry Fiduciary-Duty Rule to Have Negative Impact (The Wall Street Journal) Excerpt: “Nearly three-quarters of financial advisers surveyed by Fidelity Investments, or 73%, are concerned the Labor Department’s coming fiduciary-duty rule will have a negative impact on how they do business.” Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-on and/or subscription service for access to some content. Forbes.com is also following this story and may be an alternative access point for information, but Forbes does require that site visitors disable Ad-Blocker software.

Bank of America Phone Scam (Identity Theft Resource Center) Be very careful. Do not give out your financial information including but not limited to, account numbers and routing details.

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