Hi James,
I just came across the news story about some EBT cards to have apparently unlimited balances leading to the almost cleaning out of a Wal-Mart before the computer glitch was corrected.
I bring this up because it is a near perfect parallel to the situation Nathan Hale Jefferson put in “The Wayward Journey” which I reviewed several months back. He deserves a pat on the back for anticipating this. – Harry
Mr. Rawles,
Here is a way to efficiently burn stumps:
1. Get a 55 gallon steel drum
2. Remove both the top and bottom
3. Cut some holes in the lower sides from ground level to about 1/3 the way up.
4. Place the barrel sleeve over a stump. Put a few crumpled-up paper sacks soaked in diesel fuel in the bottom and close to some of the holes. Pile all your wood debris in the barrel.
5. Light the sacks. [The barrel .sleeve contains the heat, creates a draft, and keeps the wood fuel from rolling off.]
6. Every couple of hours, poke into the holes with a metal rod to break up ash build-up.
Depending on the type of wood that you piled in and the size and type of stump, it may take between a couple hours to a couple days to burn the stump to below ground level. – P.S.
Here is a great news segment, by Chuck Holton from CBN: Redoubt: Northwest a Haven for Dismayed Americans. There are several brief interviews in this segment including one with Todd Savage of SurvivalRetreatConsulting.com.
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Boise Market TalkRadio host pushes petition to bring “Gun Jobs” to Idaho
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A family practice medical group is seeking two or three Board-Certified Family Practitioners, in Riverton, Wyoming, right near the center of the state. If interested, e-mail: kstockto@wyoming.com. This is a great opportunity for several like-minded doctors to relocate to the American Redoubt and work at a well-established and well-respected practice.
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I heard about yet another great company located in the Redoubt: Titan Straps. They are headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. They tell me that their first batch of straps were made about 30 miles away from Bozeman, but they eventually found a top-notch injection molder (with high quality and on-time delivery) in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is great to find another American-made product!
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Western U.S. best for business, Tax Foundation says. Wyoming tops the list, and the state of Washington and Montana were #6 and #7, respectively. (Thanks to R.C. for the link.)
Life imitates art: IMF chief: U.S. dance with the debt limit is ‘very, very concerning’ [JWR’s Comment: Thankfully, she stopped short of saying: “default appears imminent.” Perhaps next week someone from the Deutsche Bundesbank will make some off the record remarks…]
G.G. flagged this: U.S. Adds Two Times More Debt than Economic Output in Last Two Years
Shenandoah blog: Stasicare. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)
P.W. sent this from Zero Hedge: They’re Coming for Your Savings
Also from P.W.: U.S. banks no longer too big to fail says Tucker
From The Economatrix:
If We Are In An Economic Recovery, Why Are Major Corporations Firing Thousands?
What China Really Thinks of the Shutdown
More D-Word: Tough choices if US Defaults: Debt ceiling crisis could leave millions in lurch
SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate G.G. suggested this at CBS News: This ain’t your average survival shelter.
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Randy F. wrote to mention that a large prepper conference is scheduled in Mesa Arizona on Oct 18th and 19th, 2013. It has been extended to the 20th due to the high expected turnout.
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There is also a preparedness show in Atlanta the same weekend.
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The next Life Changes. Be Ready! Preparedness and Gun Expo will be held in in Lakeland, Florida on November 2 & 3, 2013. Advance tickets are sold at a discount.
"The future belongs to those who prepare for it." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two Days Left! Until midnight on October 15th, the SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 Archive DVD is sale priced at just $11.99
I’m often asked about social media, forums, and meetup/networking web sites as a method for preppers to get together. I generally discourage the use of social media, as a big OPSEC risk. As I’ve warned my readers many times in SurvivalBlog, these sites are intelligence-gathering vacuum cleaners for self-incrimination, plain and simple. It has been well established that the NSA gobbles up as much information as it can and wherever it can.
Even if what you mention about your private life in Tweets and Facebook posts is presently legal and commonplace (such as food storage, hunting, and shooting), that doesn’t mean that it won’t someday become demeaned or even illegal.
You must recognize that whatever you post in social media is there forever, even if you later “delete” your posts, and even if you completely delete your user account.
I will not be surprised if it is someday revealed that most of these sites were created specifically for the purpose of intelligence gathering. (Google and Facebook have many CIA and NSA connections, and what could best be described as an incestuous relationship. Google, in particular, is suspect.)
For all of these reasons, I have never created a Facebook or Twitter page for myself, and I discourage others from doing so. And likewise, I do not have a “SurvivalBlog Forum”, or a YouTube channel with “followers”, nor do I have a mechanism for auto-posting of comments in my blog. Those can be tracked and easily cross-correlated. I have no intention of making myself a tool for some malefactor. The few letters from readers that I post are edited for OPSEC. For example I almost always change or truncate names and change their initials.
One quiet afternoon I did some pondering and decided that the names of the social media sites and some of their operative terms are in fact acronyms, which I’ve defined, as follows:
Sites:
FACEBOOK: FBI-Arranged Confessions Eternally Bookmarked On Our Komputer.
KICKSTARTER: Kicking In Cash Koupons Solely To Accord Retarded Teenage Enterprises with Relevancy
MYSPACE: My Yesterdays Saved Permanently, Allowing Character Extirpation
PINTEREST: Police (or Pedophiles) Interested in Nattering Teen Effusiveness, Regardless of any Eventual Statist Tendencies
TWITTER: Those Willingly Incriminating Themselves to The Evil Regime
LINKED IN: Lashed Interminably to National Komputers, Every DHS Intelligencer is Notified
MYLIFE: Many Youngsters Lured into Intelligence Fusion Enterprises
DEVIANTART: Datamining Extroverts and Voyeurs In Artfully Nefarious Temptations, Arguably a Resilient Trap
LIVEJOURNAL: Low Intelligence Value Everyday Jests Or Unthreatening Rantings of Nutcases And Lunatics
YAHOO GROUPS: Your Antiquated Hooligans and Obstinate Old-timers Gather Religiously–Obviously Under Police Scrutiny
GOOGLE+: Gatherings Of Overweight Geriatric Lechers and Enticers, (+Police)
PHOTOBUCKET: Photos of Hotties Obseverable To Officers Briefly, Until Canceled (but Kept Eternally in Terabytes)
BLOGGER: Blogs for Lazy Old Grannies, for GOOGLE’s Evidentiary Research
MEETUP: Matching Every Extrovert To an Unprincipled Provocateur
ORKUT: Only Read in Kolkata or at Universidade Teresina
PANDORA: Pilfering Another Ditty Or Radio Attraction
SECONDLIFE: Some Escapist Charades Only Needed by Delinquent Losers, Indolents, Fantasizers or Evaders
SKYPE: Sent Konversations of Youths Penetrated by ECHELON
STUMBLEUPON: Surveillance That U.S. Magistrates Blithely Let Enforcers Use to Pressure Opponents and Naysayers
DELICIOUS: Designating Eternal Links In Cyberspace (Ignorant of OPSEC), Utilized by Stasi
YOUTUBE: Youthful Obsessions Unfit for Television, Until Brin-Endorsed
FOURSQUARE: Forgettable Or Unstable Relationships, but Some are Qualitatively Utilized (the Addresses Reveal Entanglements)
DIGG: Dissident Intelligence Gathered by Government
WIKIPEDIA: Wasted Intellect, Kreating an Immense Propaganda Encyclopedia Designed to Incapacitate America
INSTAGRAM: Innocuously, Napolitano Seizes Treasured Assets and Gendarmes Reap Actionable Material
WAYBACKMACHINE: Wonderfully Accurate Years of Belligerent Allocution by Citizens Knavishly Making Archives, Compiling HUMINT Inventories of Natterings Evidence
MY YEARBOOK: Meeting Youth of Yesteryear, Enrolling Alums at Reseau Bluffdale Or Other Keeps
FLICKR PHOTOS: Fotos, Largely that I Couldn’t Kontribute Rationally, Possibly Holding On To Old Shamefulness
CLASSMATES: Could Lead Alumni to Squeal Stories Mistakenly to Agencies and Their ECHELON Storehouses
TAGGED: Those Agencies Getting Gun Evidence Details
WINDOWS LIVE HOME: Where Imbeciles Naively Disclose Old Wrongdoings, Snoops Love It, and Vigorously Engineer Hoards Of Maleficent Espionage
Component and Operative Terms:
TWEETS: The Way Everyone Evinces Themselves Slavishly
FANS: FISA And Napolitano Sensors
HASHTAGS: Harmful And Sly Handles with Thousands of Aggregated Guilt Summaries
PINS: People In NSA Stings
FORUM: Future Ordered Roundup of Undesirable Malcontents
MEETUPS: Meeting Extraordinarily Eccentric, Tactless, and Untrustworthy People Somewhere
FRIENDS: Folks who are Really Intelligence Envoys, Navigators, Dupes, and Servants
BLOG COMMENTS: Buffoons Letting Others Generate Confessions for Our Mainframes, Makes Every Nazi’s Task Simple
REACH: Rahm Emmanuel’s Asset Collection Hooks
GEOTAG: Getting Everyone’s Obscure True Address and Geolocation
HANGOUT: Handing All Nefarious Government Operatives Useful Tidbits
MASHUP: Mixing Assorted Schumer, Hunting Unwitting Patriots
FOLLOWERS: Feds Only Like Lots Of Willing, Emasculated, Robotic Slaves
TROLLS: Those Really are Obama’s Lawmen, Lying for the State
CLOUDCOMPUTING: Clapper’s Latest Outlandish and Unrestrained Dream of all Computer Operations Manipulated by Placing them Under The Interests of the National Government
FLASHMOB: FISA-Launched Assemblies Secretly Harnessed to Manhandle Objective Bystanders
LURKER: License to Unrepentant Roving Komputer Expert Rabble-rousers
AVATAR: A Vivacious Alterego That Averts Reality
WIKIS: We’re In Kolusion and Infiltrating Systematically
CHAT: Conversations Heard and Arranged by Troublemakers
RSS: Routed Straight to Stasi
BSD: Big Sis Department
CROWDSOURCING: Counting Reliably On Wisdom and Dollars Swiped from Others, Using Resourceful Cunning or Intrigues that Needle for Generosity
(Alternatively: Corralling and Recruiting Others to Waste Dollars and Scarce Opportunities in Uncompensated Risk to Co-create Idylls, Instituting Nothing Good)
SEO: Surreptitious Evidence Obtained
UGC: Usurped (Government’s) Content
WEBINAR: We’re Essentially Being Interrogated, the NSA is Always Recording
TAGCLOUD: Tallies Arranged for Government’s Clandestine Location Of Unbridled Dissidents
TRIBES: The Roundup Is Becoming Extremely Simple
You have been warned! Stay away from social media sites.
My advice: Learn the lost art of letter writing. In this age of universal surveillance, a stamped envelope in the mail is perhaps the only relatively secure way relate your thoughts over a distance without risk of interception. Oh by the way: Because of the new US Postal Service mail logging program, you should type the recipient’s name and address in both the center and upper left hand corner of the envelope. – JWR
I receive products weekly, to test for SurvivalBlog, so much so, that as of this writing, I’m still about four months out on trying to catch-up. And, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is that, I receive a product in the mail or UPS or FedEx, and when I open the box up, there is no letter or anything included with the product. So please, in the future, if you are going to send me a product to test, be so kind as to include some literature and a letter, with the products you send to me. And, perhaps a contact person, if I have questions!
The product under review today is simply called the 4 Person Emergency Preparation Kit – and I had to spend some time on the Internet tracking down this company, or at least, the company that is selling this product. What we have is a sealed, red-colored, five gallon bucket, that is supposed to have survival supplies or preparations for 4 people, presumably, to help survive a disaster. The kit is advertised for 4 people – they also make a kit for one person. What I received was a kit clearly labeled for 4 people, however, it was missing a few items.
The bucket is supposed to contain “A Centralized all in one, preparation kit designed by a team of U.S. Military and Homeland Security experts who consult on chemical, biological and nuclear risk management. This kit will help you prepare and protect for Catastrophic Weather Events. Epidemics and Terrorist, Protect your family from an emergency before it’s an emergency.” That is what is says on the web site.
The contents of the red bucket are supposed to be: a hand crank emergency radio with flashlight with hand crank cell phone charger, bio-hazard bag, four thermal emergency blankets, 4 rain ponchos, 10 function tool kit, 2 whistles, 4 dust masks, towelettes, work gloves and a roll of duct tape. There is also a hard cover, 224 page “Prepare For Disaster” guidebook. That’s it! Only problem was, my 4-person kit only came with one emergency blanket, one dust mask, one pack of moist towelettes, and a small first aid kit. Whoever packed this kit, didn’t pay attention to its intended use and what was supposed to go inside of it. And, as already mentioned, the red bucket is clearly marked that it is a 4 person emergency prep kit. And, there was no mention of a first-aid kit on the web site, but it came with one – a very small first-aid kit.
The 224-page “Prepare For Disaster” book is a good starter book, so this was a worthy addition to the kit. The hand crank radio/cell phone charger was also a nice touch, as is the bucket it all comes in. The dust masks work gloves, duct tape are also handy things to have around, too. Rain ponchos – also a good thing to include, as was the little tool kit and the emergency blankets – if they had actually included 4 of them, instead of one. I believe the idea behind this little red bucket kit, is to have this stuff on-hand, and ready for an emergency – only problem is, what if you had not opened this bucket beforehand, and when you actually needed it, opened to only to find, you were missing items – items that your family needed in an emergency? Not good!
I would also have added some freeze-dried foods to this bucket, if only enough for one or two days for a family of four! Of course, this is something you can add yourself. I think a water filter of some sort would be nice to have, too. You could use the bucket for collecting water, but you’d have no way of making the water safe to drink, without a water filter of some type. Like I said, this could be a starter kit, if everything that was in the bucket, was actually in the bucket – it wasn’t!
I’m not often disappointed by a product I receive for testing, and if something isn’t up to SurvivalBlog expectations, I don’t usually review it – I send it back – at my own expense. SurvivalBlog readers deserve only the best of the best, in my humble opinion. Now, while this all-in-one prep kit, isn’t a bad starter kit, I don’t believe it justifies the $89.95 asking price. And, what if there had been a genuine emergency, and my family needed the items that were suppose to have come in the bucket – and I opened it, only to find I was shorted some of the items? That would be disastrous if you ask me.
I didn’t know who to return this prep kit to, when I received it, the return address was torn-off the shipping box. And, as I mentioned at the onset of this review, I had a hard time finding out who sold this kit – the web address on the bucket didn’t exist – or else it was misprinted…I had to do a search to find this product. I’m not sure if “Whitman” is the manufacturer or just a company who bought this kit and resells it.
If you want a kit – a starter kit – I guess you could start with this one, but don’t believe this red bucket has all you need for your survival – it doesn’t! You need to add to it – add a lot of things to it. So, that’s my take on the 4 Person Emergency Preparation Kit. I’m not sure I believe this kit was developed by U.S. Military and Homeland Security experts – just sounds like hype to my thinking. Then again, knowing our FedGov, it might well have been designed by those folks. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio
‘The fate of the country is now in our hands’ It is is time for “Forced Resignations” initiated by our Citizens!
Our federal government continues down the path of destroying America. Americans must now stand up and put America back on the right track. The federal government has not subsided in “sucking the oxygen” out of America and its people with legislation and without the action required to solve our problems. The National Call to Action of the people begins now! And we call to action all branches of government to do your constitutional duties and not be led astray in the cultural and moral decay of America. We have witnessed far too many lies, deception and corruption of the republic.
You see, we do not need you other than to represent us, the people, and abide by and protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence states: “To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”
Likewise, in the poem “Invictus” by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903), we read: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” Yes, America, WE are the Masters of our Fate and the Captains of our Soul.” Our nation burns and self-destructs before our very eyes but now you are starting to awaken. The majority of the country and its citizens have experienced and seen our inept and incompetent leadership In Washington! The battle is on and we shall not retreat.
We will not permit the leaders in the White House and halls of Congress to lead us down a road of progressive socialism and destruction of the republic. The patriotic revolution that I forecast well over a year ago is happening now. We constitutionalists face a battle that is unknown to our generations so we must be aggressive in our collective efforts to continue to turn back the tide. The fate of the country is now in our hands and the plea from the majority of our citizens is to enforce the Constitution, severely limit the federal government and its out-of-control spending. There is a growing list of documented violations of the Constitution and their oath of office by current elected and appointed government officials
Lincoln issued this warning in his inaugural address, “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government and form a new one. This is a most valuable and sacred right — a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world.” Being a representative republic, not a democracy, “rising up” means for us something other than revolution by use of arms. The people must “rise up” (Stand Up) from the grassroots across this great country as we think of the greater good of this and future generations. We are limited in the peaceful transfer of power… resignation, elections, and impeachment. That is why the patriotic revolution and patriotic union must take place to ensure survival of the Union.
The oath is simple and reads: “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
Sadly, we have seen too many officials violate their oath. Fraud, lying, and corruption are rampant and some have engaged in treasonous activities, and they effectively thumb their noses at us and have sold you to the highest bidder.
The Articles of Confederation were replaced with the Constitution, which granted the federal government enough authority to cultivate, promote and secure the blessings of liberty. The balance of authority and individual liberty was understood. Power was confined to that which was enumerated in the Constitution with a certain and meaningful intent for check and balances. We must make it a local imperative and movement… of the people… by the people… and for the people.
“We the People” have had enough. Enough is Enough. The Obama White House and identifiable members of Congress must now depart from a progressive socialist and treasonous death march and bankrupting the country beyond expectations. We have watched them violate their sacred oath of office. “We the People” cannot solely depend on the results of the elections. It is now that many of these public servants (and you know who they are) must put the peoples’ and country’s interests above self-interest by resigning and stepping down immediately.
A civil uprising is still not out of the question as “pain” grips the country more each day. Hopefully, our future will reflect the citizens changing the tide in a peaceful way. This means raising your voice now to your neighbors, family, co-workers, and friends. Be the captains of your souls. I pray for another George Washington to appear within the year and lead us. This is a National Call to Action.
Paul E. Vallely MG, US Army (ret)
Chairman – Stand Up America and “The Americans”
JWR Adds: I first met General Vallely in 1984, when I was a newly-minted Second Lieutenant. My USAR Military Intelligence unit (the 519th ASA Co.) was co-located with the headquarters of the 351st Civil Affairs Command in Mountain View, California, which Vallely then commanded. After retiring as a Major General, Vallely became a frequent commentator on international military affairs for Fox News. He also founded Nemo Arms, a Kalispell, Montana-based maker of top-quality AR-10 and AR-15 family rifles.
Dear Editor,
I have some comments to follow up on the letter from Kent from Illinois. I specifically left out mentioning match primers, salvaging brass with swaged primer pockets, etc., as this article was on the basics, barely touching upon a few advanced techniques.
As to touching the primers: My handloads suffered from maddening duds occasionally, until I tracked down the cause. An old timer told me about skin oils and primers. I, being a young know-it-all, could not find this old timer’s story mentioned anywhere (this was way before broad public use of the Internet), so I set off to test his hypothesis for myself. I took a brand new tray of primers and opened the drawer one row. I poured the primers onto my work surface and used a clean tool to put five in my hand. I then seated these five, and then seated the other five without touching them. I later fired all ten, sans powder and projectile. The five I had kept in my palm clicked on duds twice. That is a forty percent failure rate. That was unacceptable. The other five popped off one hundred percent. The only thing differing was not touching the control batch. I recommend you try this experiment for yourself, as perhaps primers have gotten better. That was some time ago, but it proved the concept to me. Once I got a specific priming tool the problem vanished. [JWR Adds: I use an RCBS brand primer-flipping tray with a concentrically-grooved surface, and then pick up the primers with a primer feeder tube. That way my fingers never touch the primers. But I have doubts that the high failure rate that you reported was solely due to skin oils. There must have been another factor.]
As to the length of the loaded round, If you will check some SAAMI specs on specific calibers you will note that most will have at least an eighth of an inch of leeway (the distance from minimum to maximum length) in overall length, in many calibers (.357 Magnum, for instance, MIN: one point four zero five, MAX: one point five nine. This is well over an eighth, point one two five. I think most can measure to a sixteenth with a [machinist’s] ruler). This can hardly be considered a critical measurement, in an article where sometimes, as in the die interior, one thousandth of an inch is critical. [JWR Adds: I disagree. Lining up a cartridge alongside ruler allows for variances from 90 degree alignment with your eye. (Bullets are tapered, so their tips will not be right along side the ruler markings. Physically calipering removes that error, and is far more accurate. Bullet seating depth can also affect accuracy, and it is crucial for getting a good crimp that properly engages a bullet’s s cannelure.]
And as to the tapping on the case and bullet, I did forget one important detail: A small wooden block (and care to tap and not pound) should be used to prevent damage to the case or bullet, as in the Lee loader instructions. I also should have listed this block in the basic equipment. Thanks for noticing and allowing me to improve the article. – Ken from Montana
Several readers mentioned this: Computer Glitch Blamed For Nationwide EBT System Shutdown On Saturday. The food handout computer system came back up late Saturday evening, but just imagine this happening in all 50 States and in all of the Territories for more than a week.
When some people vote with their feet, it gets noticed: Billionaire Branson Leaves UK for Caribbean Tax Haven
Items from The Economatrix:
There are some tasks here at the Rawles Ranch that are mundane but remarkably satisfying. For me, one of these is burning tree limb slash piles, which I do nearly every fall and spring. I usually try to position the piles over buried stumps, in the hope of burning up a stump in the process. But accomplishing that usually requires adding more wood and days of subsequent fire tending. (Depending on the size of the stump.) I’ve found that this process is a great excuse to burn up a few pieces of bucked firewood that have such thoroughly twisted grain and that are so full of knots that I would dread splitting them. (We do all of our splitting by hand.) And after two to four days of continual burning, it is gratifying to see the stump burned down to below ground level. Our work around the ranch is never done, but is is good to see a stump consumed to ashes. Finem respice.
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Jerry Miculek: S&W Model 29/629 .44 Magnum review & speed shooting
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File Under Global Warming: South Dakota ranchers reel after ‘catastrophic’ storm leaves up to 100,000 cattle dead. (Thanks to Tim J. for the link.)
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I heard that the Second Edition of Suburban Survival is is now available. Good reading.
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Darwin Awards Candidates? Two Suspected Burglars Killed When Blow Torch Ignites Fireworks In Safe. (Thanks to F.J. for the link.)
“Shiny. Let’s be bad guys.” – Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb, Serenity
Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.
Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.) A full set of all 22 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $200 value, and G.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).
Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and G.) A Nesco / American Harvest Gardenmaster Dehydrator with an extra set of trays, and the book The Dehydrator Bible, from Mayflower Trading. (A $210 value.)
Round 49 ends on November 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.