Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — September 5, 2023

On September 5th, 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.

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Ready Made Resources is running a Labor Day Sale on a L3 Commercial Grade with PVS-14 Night Vision Monocular/Weapon sight package with a 10-Year Warranty for $4,299.  In this package, you will get: One L3 Unfilmed White Phosphor Commercial Grade (Unit and Spec Sheet Only), One Wilcox G24 Lite with Dovetail J-Arm, One Bump Helmet, and On Pelican case. You’ll save $310 by buying this package.  Take note that USSOCOM and JSOC have chosen white phosphor tubes as their new standard and are now taking delivery of these tubes exclusively.

And, for the full month of September, Ready Made Resources is running a special on IRAY USA-Made RICO RS75 thermal night vision scopes at $2,000 off.

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.

But first, I have a special announcement…

Opportunity for Retreat Group Membership in a Secure Bug Out Location

I currently have a consulting client who lives full-time with his family on a highly productive farm in Kansas. He has asked me to use SurvivalBlog to add a family to his retreat group. Unlike the caretaker position (which was a salaried position) posted earlier this year, this is not a paying job, but if you have the qualifications think of your response as the first step toward a potential space for you and your family in a lifeboat which in a collapse scenario could be very important.

Imagine if the collapse has occurred and instead of being stuck in the city, you traveled to a retreat and are welcomed by a Christian family. All you needed to do is travel to their farm/retreat and help with security and usual farm chores. It sounds like a fantasy, but it is true as there is a retreat owner and consulting client has asked me to search for a qualified like-minded family to help assist their family in the event their retreat needs to be activated. They live full time at their farm which has been a productive farm for over 150 years.
The farm is in a safe geographic area in a Midwestern conservative state with multiple sources of power, water including a stocked lake, and abundant trees for firewood.

The farm produces enough food for hundreds of people and surrounding farms also produce grains, milk, meat, and eggs. The area is lightly populated, with more cattle than people. Wildlife including deer abound in the area.

Currently, the family has room for just one more family. They will take under consideration any families from the continental United States, but special preference will be given to people in the Midwest and South as it is geographically closer. The retreat is already stocked for the owners, but additional supplies for you and your family to be determined upon mutual agreement with the retreat owners could be pre-positioned if you are accepted into their retreat group.

But before I can tell you anything more about this farm retreat, I need to know about you. The ideal candidates must be able to check off the following:

The husband must have either a military/LE background OR be a physician.

The husband must:

Have a “can do” attitude. Have U.S. Army or USMC experience — or alternatively extensive police SWAT experience, or overseas intel/security contractor
experience. Ideally, we are seeking a former company-grade officer or NCO qualified in any of the following Combat Arms/Combat Support OSCs/MOSes (or any of the USMC equivalent specialties):

SF (18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F)
MP (31B, 31K)
Infantry (11B, 11C)
Armor/Scout (19D, 19K)
Engineer (21W, 21K and 21R, or 12A, 12B, 12K, 12M, 12N, 12P, 12R, 12W)
And ideally, with prior or secondary MOS experience in any of the following mechanical MOSes:

91B, 91D, 91F, 91H, or 91L.
Or, in any 68-series medical MOS, preferably with experience in the field at the tactical level.

OR,

Currently licensed physician with experience in family medicine or an ER doctor will be strongly considered. Other medical doctors will also be considered.

They will only consider happily married individuals in a strife-free and drug-free monogamous relationship.
Be devoted Christians and be on the same page as the farm owner concerning current events of these Last Days.
Be circumspect and security conscious.
Have minimal emotional baggage, drama, or other “issues.”
Apply with the understanding that they will have extensive background checks and will undergo drug tests.

Some Plusses for military/LE families:

Overseas deployments are a plus.
Experience at tree felling is a plus.
Experience with fence construction is a plus.
Experience with tractors, excavators, and/or bulldozers is a plus.
Experience with home maintenance is a plus.
Experience with small livestock is a plus.
Car, truck, and small motor repair experience is a plus.
Vegetable gardening experience (especially large scale) is a plus.

The wife must:

Be practical. She must keep good discipline of your children and pets.  Cooking, baking, gardening, and sewing skills are a definite plus.

Prior military service for the wife (in any of the aforementioned MOSes) and/or medical experience is a big plus, but not necessary.

In your initial cover letter, please introduce you, your wife, and your family including you and your families’ beliefs, interests, hobbies, pets and diet including any allergies or foods that any members of your family don’t eat.  Please include detailed profiles of each family member that you would like to be potentially included listing work history and skills.

If you meet these qualifications, then please e-mail a cover letter and detailed profile description, to:  jamesATrawles.to , (Change “AT” to an @ sign.) and I will personally handle the initial contacts. Once we’ve narrowed the list of potential retreat group members, your details will then be forwarded to the farm owner.

Please pray seriously about this, before responding.

A Local Disaster Network – Part 1, by J.M.

There have been a number of articles on SurvivalBlog on the use of mobile devices like cell phones and tablets in survival/disaster scenarios (including one I wrote – ‘Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI’ parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). In that article, I briefly introduced the idea of setting up and using a home server/network infrastructure for a disaster scenario, which can provide you with a lot of options for planning, organizing, coordinating, sharing, and communicating information among your team, family, group, or community. In this article, I’ll discuss one possible approach for configuring such an infrastructure for disaster situations. Note that this is based on an actual configuration that I regularly use a couple of times a year at a friend’s off-the-grid cabin out in the wilds of Maine; a group of us outdoor geeks get together to go hiking, fishing, hunting and to practice bushcraft, and we use the network infrastructure to plan and document our activities, as well as for occasionally playing multiplayer video games when the weather is too bad to go outside.

For the purposes of this article, I’m going to focus more on the what you can do versus how to do it, although I do provide some instructions for the initial setup. There are lots of detailed ‘how to’ instructions available for most of the hardware and software I’ll be discussing, which I’ll provide links to, but be aware that a moderate degree of technical computer know-how is required.Continue reading“A Local Disaster Network – Part 1, by J.M.”

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on a charging bear incident.  (See the Montana section.)

Region-Wide

CBS video: The movement to shrink Oregon and expand Idaho.

o  o  o

‘Unusually snowy’: Farmers’ Almanac predicts snowy, wet winter for region.

o  o  o

An un-narrated three-minute CBS video: Nature: The Continental Divide.

Idaho

‘Respect the election process’: Idaho Secretary of State responds to West Bonner recall.

o  o  o

Local professional bareback rider dies after rodeo injuries.

o  o  o

The Museum in the Sky.

o  o  o

Athol man sentenced for Illegal Animals.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“If you wish to know how libertarians regard the State and any of its acts, simply think of the State as a criminal band, and all of the libertarian attitudes will logically fall into place.” – Murray Rothbard

Preparedness Notes for Monday — September 4, 2023

On September 4th, 2006 Australian wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin, who achieved worldwide fame as the exuberant and risk-taking host of The Crocodile Hunter (1992–2006) television series and related documentaries, was killed by a venomous bull stingray.

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I noticed several new listings of interest, over at SurvivalRealty.com.  For example:

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A reminder: The upcoming Paratus Holiday will fall on Friday, September 15, 2023.

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Today’s feature article is a review, written by Field Gear Editor Thomas Christianson.

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.

—

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.