Preparedness Notes for Monday — May 22, 2023

On May 22, 1960, the Valdivia earthquake–one of the largest earthquakes on record–struck the southern coast of Chile, killing about 5,700 people and creating seismic sea waves that caused death and destruction in distant Pacific coastal areas, notably Japan and Hawaii.

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Iron Edison (one of our biggest advertisers) has announced a sale on their 5kWH wall-mount batteries. These batteries are normally $3,395 each, but they are offering them at $600 off, for a price of just $2,795.00. The discount code for this deal is SALE2023.  The special pricing end on June 16th, so order yours, soon. Iron Edison offers complete solar and battery kits that include everything you need for a complete solar system.  If you contact them, then please mention that you saw them mentioned in SurvivalBlog.

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

Minuteman Rocket Stove, by Thomas Christianson

God created man in His own image. One way that mankind reflects God’s image is through creativity. That is why observing creativity gives us such joy. It reveals a little bit of what God is like. I remember feeling that joy the first time I saw a Swiss Army Knife and the first time I saw a Leatherman Multi-Tool. These things are small reflections of the creativity of the Maker of human eye, the running cheetah, and the towering oak.

Recently, I had another moment of joy when I first ran across the Minuteman Rocket Stove online. I thought it was a wonderfully fun idea to build a rocket stove inside of an M2A1 .50 cal ammo can. It gives the stove excellent portability, as well as a unique aesthetic appeal.

I contacted Mr. Lane Miller, owner of the Minuteman Provision Company, and asked if he could provide me with a sample of the stove for testing and evaluation. He was kind enough to agree. About a week later, a package arrived via USPS Priority Mail.Continue reading“Minuteman Rocket Stove, by Thomas Christianson”

Recipe of the Week: Classic Oatmeal Cookies

The following recipe for Classic Oatmeal Cookies is from SurvivalBlog reader O.H.. These are yummy!

Ingredients
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), very soft
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats (don’t use instant or quick oats)
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or substitute raisins or walnuts)
Directions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray; set aside.
  2. To a large bowl, add the egg, butter, sugars, vanilla, and mix with a spoon aggressively for about 90 seconds, or until smooth and slightly fluffed.
  3. Add the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and stir to combine.
  4. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
  5. Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop, form mounds and place them on prepared baking sheets spaced about 2 inches apart (roughly 12 cookies per sheet)
  6. Bake for about 10 to 13 minutes (short for super soft cookies, longer for more well-done cookies), or until edges have set and tops are just set, even if slightly undercooked, pale, and glossy in the center; don’t overbake — cookies will firm up, as they cool.
  7. Immediately upon taking the baking sheet out of the oven you can add about 5 additional chocolate chips to the top of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before serving. I let them cool on the baking sheet and don’t use a rack.
SERVING

It is best to serve ’em warm, with cold milk!

STORAGE

Cookies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Alternatively, unbaked cookie dough can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months, so you may consider baking only as many cookies as desired and save the remaining dough to be baked in the future when desired.

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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. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at investing in discontinued P71 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor cars. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold/Silver: How to trade a U.S. default.

o  o  o

At Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Price Suppression, Or Unbroken Confidence By The Herd?

Economy & Finance:

US Deposit Outflows Accelerated Last Week, Led By Small Banks. JWR’s Comments: I’ve stated this before, folks…  The current banking crisis is far from over.  The finale will probably be a trillion-dollar bailout, funded by U.S. taxpayers. Oh, and a banking industry consolidation that benefits the largest banks.

o  o  o

Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Debt ceiling talks resume Friday night after stalling earlier in the day.

o  o  o

Why a US recession is probably coming.

o  o  o

BofA Gave FBI Access To Jan. 6 Bank Records Without Customers’ Knowledge: Whistleblowers.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 21, 2023

May 21st is the birthday of weapons designer John Douglas Pedersen. (Born 1881, died 1951.) His name is almost synonymous with the short-lived Pedersen Device (pictured) — a conversion kit that turned a Model 1903 Springfield bolt action rifle into a semi-automatic trench-clearing gun.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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. EBL is providing an EBL Voyager 500-Watt Power Station with deep cycle lithium batteries, providing reliable 120 Volt AC and DC (12 Volt and USB) power for emergencies or outdoor use. (A $399 value.)
  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. 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.

—

More than $800,000 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 106 ends on May 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.

Behind the Scenes, by 3AD Scout

In April of this year, SurvivalBlog published “WHEN WAR COMES”. In that 2-part article, we explored some reasons why war is coming soon, what life might look like, and what we can do to be better prepared.

Since writing that article, I have done a lot of research. Ninety percent of intelligence is open source, that is it is, in the public domain. It takes a lot of time, a little training, and a little luck to find the puzzle pieces and start connecting them. There are a lot of people out there who are stating that war is coming. Many YouTube prepper channels have the caveat that they are not trying to “scare” people but just trying to educate them. Well, folks we should be scared, because behind the scenes our nation is preparing itself for war and not against some third-world nation of goat herders either. Being scared is often thought of in a negative way but being scared is often your mind/body’s way of getting you to take prudent action. With all the preparations that are taking place, the one thing that is ominously missing is any real action to get the public prepared. Let’s discuss what is happening behind the scenes.Continue reading“Behind the Scenes, by 3AD Scout”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

And this will we do, if God permit.

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,

Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” – Hebrews 6 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 20, 2023

May 20th, 1942 was the birthday of Carlos Hathcock. (Died February 23, 1999.) He was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant sniper with a service record of 93 confirmed kills.

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I was saddened to hear of the passing of my old friend from ROTC, Roland Pickering. He was the inspiration for the Doug Carlton character, in my first novel, Patriots. Roland was a devoted father, and had a great sense of humor. He gave up a career in aviation so that he could live close to his children (and later his grandchildren), after his divorce. He will be greatly missed.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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. EBL is providing an EBL Voyager 500-Watt Power Station with deep cycle lithium batteries, providing reliable 120 Volt AC and DC (12 Volt and USB) power for emergencies or outdoor use. (A $399 value.)
  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. 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.

—

More than $800,000 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 106 ends on May 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.

Some Options for AR Pistols, by Legal Eagle

Several years ago, I ran across an article on the versatility of the .300 AAC Blackout round. One of my hobbies is hand loading ammunition. The adaptability of the cartridge was interesting. In the summer my wife and I live near Yellowstone on the Wyoming-Montana border. We often enjoy camping and fishing in the area I grew up in. We don’t have an RV, just a tent and cots. Nothing fancy just as my father and I camped in the sixties. Most of our favorite spots are remote and I had been looking for a firearm that was more than a heavy revolver, but less cumbersome than a rifle or shotgun capable of rapid follow up shots.

Some sources listed the velocities out of a ten-inch .300 Blackout barrel of a 110-grain projectile at 2,200 feet per second. A 150-grain bullet with the proper propellants could be boosted to 1,700 FPS out of the same barrel. A hot .357 magnum out of an eight-inch barrel can launch a 158-grain hard cast bullet as much as 1,500 FPS. There are several people I know who carry either .357 magnum revolvers, but with four-to-six-inch barrels, or .44 magnum revolvers. Several of my friends now pack a 10mm in the backcountry. Unless you have nerves of steel and perfect shot placement none of these will stop a charging grizzly. Growing up, I remember hearing stories of the big bears failing to stop their charge after several hits from a .30-06. So, I realized the limitations of the .300 Blackout cartridge also in stopping such a tough animal. Unfortunately, I do not have nerves of steel nor am I capable of perfect shot placement under stress.

However, in all my time in the woods, and seeing plenty of bears, I’ve never been attacked by a wild animal. Still, it seemed prudent to have a firearm with some punch that would be easy to make hits with and compact. A firearm able to quickly bring on target. A .300 AAC Blackout pistol with a red dot and Picatinny rail mounting a light would be just the ticket, I reasoned.Continue reading“Some Options for AR Pistols, by Legal Eagle”

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:

This week Lily and I celebrated our wedding anniversary by taking a camping trip on the upper Coeur D’Alene River. Since this was still pre-Memorial Day, we avoided both mosquitoes and the seasonal tourist crowd. We had a small campground all to ourselves.

I got some more firewood cut and hauled up to the ranch house. I also hauled some limbs and treetops to our slash piles. I usually burn those in October, each year.

Now, Lily’s report…

Avalanche Lily Reports:

Dear Readers,
The weather was gorgeous, until the smoke from the fires in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada came down into our region this week.  It is seriously bad up there with over 90 fires burning and many of them uncontrolled.  Please pray for our Western Canadian readers.

Early Thursday morning, we were awakened by a huge lightning storm.  The lightning flashed every few seconds and was both sheet lightning and bolts that were mostly red and pink.  There were numerous thunderclaps that jolted us up from our bed.  I have not seen such a strong storm in quite a few years.  It poured rain very heavily.  I later looked at the main garden and I saw that it survived it.

Hey Ya’all, this week I learned something so cool while watching a video on Iranian Nomads’ way of life. I am learning a lot of practical skills by watching their various channels of living life mostly off-grid. Actually. this whole village has so many channels that it appears that YouTube is a major revenue stream for this village. 😉

See: The Chilteh Channel: Washing linen Cloth and the Chickens lay on the Eggs.

Go to minute-mark 17:30 to see how the nomads force a hen to brood eggs for hatching. They put the eggs in a small box, put the hen in on top of this large egg clutch, and put a lid over the box.  The eggs and the imposed darkness and tight quarters force the hen to do what is natural — to brood on the eggs.  So I am doing this as a test, with two hens. They settled right in, and did not eat the eggs.  I put small bowls at each hen’s head — one with food and the other with water and feed. I’m checking their feed and water at least twice a day. I noticed that they poop behind the eggs, so I check several times a day, scoop that up, remove the bit of soiled hay where the poop was, and let the hen get back to brooding.

How much easier this is to do in the summer when they naturally want to brood, than to incubate eggs with our machine?  This is a way to get chicks without electricity and without having a set-broody hen! I am so excited to see if this method will work for me.  I have them in the garage in a protected spot. I am picking hens that I want to keep long-term and can identify easily in the future. In twenty or so days I’ll let you know if we have had success or not.

We put the horses in the South Meadow on Friday.  While I was finishing planting blueberries in the orchard, I heard the horses give their warning whoosh sound. The south meadow is south of the orchard and I could see them grazing while I worked.  I looked to see where they were looking. They were looking across the river in the direction of our neighbor’s property.  I looked over and saw a cow moose at their salt lick.  Since it was a gorgeous calm day and our open meadows are seriously flooded, anywhere from three inches deep to about seven feet in our small pond.  The average depth is about twelve inches to eighteen inches deep and the water was super clear. I decided to go for a paddle.  Miss H. my pup and forever sidekick who is always super eager for any adventure with me immediately jumped into my canoe, before I even had it far enough out in the water to float.  I had to stand up, gondola style, and push the canoe forward with my paddle to get into floatable water.  I didn’t want to get my feet wet and muddy.

We paddled through the opening of the tube gate into the open meadows, paddled over our small pond and saw a few trout darting down the channel into the pond. Then we turned and paddled to the river in order to go around the fence that goes into the river to go into our southeast meadow. The water flowing in the river is flowing very fast and is about twenty feet deep this time of the year.  I quickly maneuvered the canoe around the fence and went back over the flooded bank into the meadow.  From the meadow, I had a clear view of one of our 6,000-plus-foot high peaks with still a fair amount of snow on it’s summit.  It was gorgeous against the clear blue skies and the green meadows and trees below it’s summit.

I looked back towards our neighbors’ place and saw that the moose had moved down to the river and was watching us. She was on the opposite side. I paddled across our meadow to the southwest at an angle somewhat toward her but moving away at the same time from her, so as not to spook her, so I was still able to watch her the whole time.  Then we stopped and studied her for a while.  I was always about seventy yards away from her.  The deep river was between us. She is a beauty!  She looked pregnant!!  So cool!  We do not see moose very often. So she was a real treat.

After we paddled back home, Jim who had went to investigate my blueberry plantings, saw me and came out of the orchard, and towards me, speaking quite loudly. H. barked at Jim. She always barks at him when he is approaching us.  I don’t know if she just doesn’t see so clearly, or what.  Jim usually has to speak to her for her to recognize him. The talking and barking spooked the moose and she began walking up through their yard.  When Jim reached me, I pointed towards where the moose was and he caught a glimpse of her as she went up by our neighbor’s driveway and into the forest.

In addition to planting the five blueberry bushes, I planted in the Main garden: tomato seedlings, pepper seedlings, all of the cauliflower, cabbage, celery, zucchini, more potatoes, borage, dill, and feverfew.  I have a lot more seedlings to plant in the coming two weeks.  I still have to plant the big extension gardens…

May you all have a very blessed and safe week.

– Avalanche Lily, Rawles

o o o

As always,  please share and send e-mails of your own successes and hard-earned wisdom and we will post them in the “Snippets” column this coming week.  We want to hear from you.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.

For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength.

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.

O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people righteously.

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.” – Psalm 96 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 19, 2023

On May 19, 1796, the first game law was approved in the United States. The law created penalties for hunting or destroying game within Indian Territory. Modern American fish and game laws make “living off the land” nearly impossible, outside of Alaska.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 106 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 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.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. 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. EBL is providing an EBL Voyager 500-Watt Power Station with deep cycle lithium batteries, providing reliable 120 Volt AC and DC (12 Volt and USB) power for emergencies or outdoor use. (A $399 value.)
  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. 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.

—

More than $800,000 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 106 ends on May 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.