The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.” – Ronald Reagen

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 11, 2022

On August 11, 1857, N. H. Wolfe and Company, the oldest flour and grain company in New York City, failed. This failure shook investor confidence and began a slow selloff in the market which continued into late August. Several other failures followed, and this cascaded into what was later called the Panic of 1857.

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I was asked by a consulting client about the 30+ agent FBI “fishing expedition” raid on DJT’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. What does it mean?  To me, it means that the rule of law is now essentially meaningless to the leftist plutocrats. The FBI needs to stop targeting patriots. The FBI, the DOJ, the IRS, the ATF, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), and even the EPA have been turned into bullies, tasked with oppressing the political opponents of the Biden regime. The leadership of the Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been fully co-opted, so the region inside The Beltway has become rotten to the core. Pundits use terms like “politicized” and “weaponized” to describe this shift in Federal law enforcement. But regardless of the terminology or semantics, it is clearly evil.

Our Bill of Rights has now been reduced, as the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia warned, to mere “parchment guarantees.” The ongoing concentration of Federal power accelerated during the Obama years, and is now fully solidified in the White House, the Department of Justice, the offices of career bureaucrats in various agencies, and in Barack Obama’s 251,000-square-foot “post-presidential workspace” office building at 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, D.C..

Let’s face it, folks: There is a leftist cabal that has set up a junta, in the District of Criminals (D.C.). Along with their bankster buddies, they are orchestrating a coup en traître. And don’t expect the leftist mainstream media to report on their wrongdoings — since they are willing participants in the grand scheme. Anyone who vocally opposes them is a potential target of a tax audit (at the hands of 87,000 new IRS agents), an asset seizure, a lien, or a search warrant signed by one of the Bidenistas’ pet magistrates and judges, and executed by one of the aforementioned agencies.

In essence, they’ve declared war on patriots. They want to muzzle any opposition to the Biden-Harris regime. So, henceforth we must give ZERO cooperation to ALL of the enforcement arms of the Executive Branch. Do not answer ANY of their questions! Cite the Fifth Amendment, and politely send them packing. Do not consent to any searches without the physical presence of a hard copy of a signed court-issued warrant. Do not give up vault combinations, encryption keys, computer or crypto passphrases, the location of hidden items or hidden physical keys, or phone passwords (except in Florida), even if they do have a warrant. Make them work like the thieves they are, to complete their punitive assignments. Make them sweat for it. They cannot force you to say a word or lift a finger, to help them conduct any search. That would be tantamount to self-incrimination. (Cite the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Also, mention the Fruit of the Poisonous Tree doctrine. Repeat those, as necessary. Say nothing else.) Don’t fall for any of their coercion or intimidation. Sit down, shut up, fix your gaze on your clasped hands (or your feet if they’ve handcuffed you), and wait for them to hire a locksmith. And they can only do that only if the contents of a locked vault are specifically mentioned in a search warrant.

I must also remind you, dear readers, that it is high time to hedge your bets. Place most of your assets including your motor vehicles in one or more trusts. Keep some of your guns, ammo, and precious metals very safe hiding places where even metal detectors and thermal imagers won’t find them. Read: Buried deeply or in a wall cache adjacent to something made of steel, and preferably not at your address.

Oh, and make sure that your passport is up to date. Just in case.

If you need to report a crime — even an interstate crime — then don’t call the FBI. Instead, report it to your county sheriff’s office or your city police department. Again, ZERO cooperation with Federal authorities.

Come the next election, we’ll know how to vote. We need representatives that will disband the ATF, disband the EPA, eliminate all Federal gun laws — except perhaps a few import and export laws — break up the FBI into a few much smaller agencies with very restrictive charters, and eliminate income taxes. That would of course mean drastically downsizing the IRS. All in all, we need LESS government!

Continue to pray daily, for the restoration of our constitutional republic! – JWR

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 102 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. 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime low-cost training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 102 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.

Additive Manufacturing – Part 1, by M.

The community of emergency preparedness has devolved into something of a hoarder arms race. It’s not surprising why. Our threat assessment has changed from just being concerned about natural disasters that may last a few weeks, to being worried about our own government relentlessly sabotaging our way of life just for the kicks and giggles. Those with their eyes and ears open take nothing in our luxurious modern society for granted. But just because one can identify a problem doesn’t mean they have figured out an efficient solution to it. I have seen countless comments and videos by survivalists who do things like buy tons of dollar store or clearance “deals” because: it is “cheap” and “it might be useful”. The result is they get an ever-growing pile of junk that just makes it harder to keep track of your own possessions, and upsets the wife. If you can’t find what you need when you need it because you have too much clutter… do you actually have it?

There is a solution to this logistical nightmare, and it doesn’t involve renting storage, it’s additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing. When one thinks of a survival situation, most of us imagine a rural grid down situation, and not cutting-edge technology. The reality however is that most widespread emergencies even in the case of anarchy do not result in a true societal collapse. Those who have preparations to sustain electronics will be well ahead of the curve than those do not. Grid failure is no longer as big of a roadblock as it was before, with many more decentralized power generation options that are available at the consumer level. Nearly all of us at this point have some kind of power generation and battery bank setup at home. While 3D printing is a slow process that takes hours or even days to produce something, it is a very energy-efficient process with a peak of ~240W which is very similar to the power required to run a desktop computer, which isn’t exactly an electricity hog.Continue reading“Additive Manufacturing – Part 1, by M.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at Weather Forecasts for the Winter of 2022 /23.

Farmers’ Almanac: Extreme Winter Forecast for 2022-23

Steven Cochran — the kind contributor of our regular Month in Precious Metals column — sent the link to this summary: Farmers’ Almanac Releases an Extreme Winter Forecast for 2022-23.  Steven says:  “It looks like you’ll be in the hibernation zone. Folks up there better stock up on the canned food and firewood.”

NOAA Climate Prediction Center Forecast 2022-2033

Experimental Unofficial Long-Lead Forecasts: Two-Class Probabilities.

Extinct Pathogens Ushered The Fall of Ancient Civilizations

Andre spotted this, from Science Alert: Extinct Pathogens Ushered The Fall of Ancient Civilizations, Scientists Say.  Thsi articles’s opning:

“Thousands of years ago, across the Eastern Mediterranean, multiple Bronze Age civilizations took a distinct turn for the worse at around the same time.

The Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian Empire both collapsed, and there was a widespread societal crisis across the Ancient Near East and the Aegean, manifesting as declining populations, destruction, reduced trade, and significant cultural changes.

As usual, fingers have been pointed at climate change and shifting allegiances. But scientists have just found a new culprit in some old bones.

In remains excavated from an ancient burial site on Crete, in a cave called Hagios Charalambos, a team led by archaeogeneticist Gunnar Neumann of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany found genetic evidence of bacteria responsible for two of history’s most significant diseases – typhoid fever and plague.”

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you. Never excuse yourself. Never pity yourself. Be a hard master to yourself-and be lenient to everybody else.” – Henry Ward Beecher

Rainwater Harvesting – Part 2, by K.R.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Our Primary Rainwater Capture System

When the time came for us to put in a new garage, we had the opportunity to install a larger rainwater system that could also capture snow melt, as well as store water during the winter.

The collection system is an in-ground French drain running the 60-foot length of the building, between the eaves of the building and the hillside. The drain empties into a 1,000-gallon concrete underground cistern. We put in a septic tank for the toilet in the garage, so we just dropped a second septic tank to use as a cistern for this system. We use a small Eco-Worthy 12 volt DC submersible pump, powered by a 100-watt PV solar panel, to retrieve the water. An alternative retrieval method we use is an inexpensive Milescraft 1314 transfer pump, powered by an electric drill, to suck the water the 8 feet from the bottom of the cistern.

(When choosing a solar panel and a pump, make sure that the panel is rated at the voltage and power that matches the requirements of the pump. This way, the panel may be wired directly to the pump without any charge controller.)

The interior of the cistern is coated with a waterproof sealant, as the concrete is porous and would otherwise only hold water for a limited time. We used BASF MasterSeal 583, which also fills cracks in addition to providing a durable seal. The cistern is next to outdoor raised beds, a greenhouse, and the cow pen. Our well-fed hydrant is also nearby, so we can use either the well water or the cistern water on the garden, greenhouse, and animals.Continue reading“Rainwater Harvesting – Part 2, by K.R.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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A useful 22-minute instructional video: Basic Radio Comms Setup for SHTF — Featuring UV5R.

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Reader Tim J. recommended this video from Grunt Proof: Why do all YouTube Preppers get Political?

“Bury your head in the sand all you want, but politics do have an affect on your life. Just ask the survivors of the holocaust, or literally every other catastrophe that has ever happened. If you want to prepare for survival, you can start by paying attention to what your elected officials are doing…”

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Death from above, printed at home: Ukrainians deploy DIY weapons against Russian troops. (A hat tip to Reader S.B., for the link.)

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Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen: What Is Wealth? The Answer Might Surprise You.

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Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — August 9, 2022

August 9th, 1831 was the birthday of James Paris Lee (August 9, 1831 – February 24, 1904). He was a Scottish-Canadian and later American inventor and arms designer, best known for inventing the bolt action that led to the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield series of rifles.

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Some sad news:  ‘Magnum P.I.’ Actor Roger E. Mosley Dies At 83.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 102 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. 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  5. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  6. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  7. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime low-cost training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  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. 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)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $750,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 102 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.

 

 

Rainwater Harvesting – Part 1, by K.R.

Imagine that you have a 2,000 square foot cabin in the Inland Northwest and a spring rain shower thunders by that drops an inch of rain. If you were equipped to capture the rain that hit the roof of your cabin, you would have just picked up over 1,200 gallons of water.

Rainwater harvesting is an easy win that can provide a significant supply of water. With a relatively small investment, you can provide a significant amount of water that you can use for gardens, washing, animals, firefighting, and–if treated–drinking. At the very least, capturing your rainwater as a redundant source of water makes you more prepared for tough times, and gives you greater peace of mind.

This essay will help you plan and design a rainwater harvesting system that meets your needs; provide a wide range of examples of harvesting systems; provides a quick review of treatment of water for drinking; and summarizes some lessons we’ve learned with our in-ground rainwater harvesting system.

Why Harvest Rainwater?

A significant amount of water hits our land. If we use even a fraction of it, capturing and using it saves money in electricity, saves wear-and-tear on our well pump, and provides a reliable source of water–should our well not function. Most of the water we capture is used for our garden and livestock, but people can also use it for washing, flushing toilets, and–in an emergency–for drinking. Water security is food security, which is very important with the current threats of food shortages.

Rainwater can also help store thermal energy. We are currently building a greenhouse that will have a 1000 gallon water tank in it. The high heat capacity of water means that the water will absorb radiant energy from the sun, then release that thermal energy over time to moderate the temperature inside the greenhouse.Continue reading“Rainwater Harvesting – Part 1, by K.R.”

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’s focus is on wildfires, throughout the American Redoubt region.

Idaho

Coming up on August 27th, in Stanley, Idaho (pictured above, in a photo recently snapped by Avalanche Lily): Sawtooth Salmon Festival.

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Wildlife officials euthanize grizzly responsible for livestock attacks around Boundary County.

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Moose Fire 23% contained, wildfire grows to 58,168 acres.  Here is a quote:

“The Moose Fire began on July 17. High winds, along with hot, dry conditions have been an ongoing challenge for firefighters working to protect homes and buildings in the area. Two helicopter pilots were killed last month while assisting with firefighting efforts. No other injuries have been reported.”

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“A man’s house is his castle and fortress, et domus sua cuique tutissimum refugium.” (The Latin at the end translates as ‘and each man’s home is his safest refuge.’) – Sir Edward Coke, The Institutes of the Laws of England (1628)

Preparedness Notes for Monday — August 8, 2022

August 8th is the birthday of Terry Nation (August 8th, 1930 – March 9th, 1997), who was a Welsh television writer and novelist. Nation wrote two series, Survivors and Blake’s 7, in the 1970s. Survivors was re-made a few years ago.

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The new SurvivalRealty listing in North Carolina caught my eye: Heritage farm with operating winery.

“This heritage farm rests gently in the valley on the footsteps of the Blue Ridge just 30 minutes east of the iconic town of Black Mountain (setting of the “One Second After” series by Bill Forstchen and a few minutes to the sprawling Lake James.”
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Today we are posting a review written by our Filed Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio.

 

 

Springfield Armory Hellion, by Pat Cascio

I hate to admit it, but I came to the bullpup dance a little bit late. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the AR-style of rifles, as well as the M14 (M1A) rifles. Some folks like to say I’m older than dirt – well, not quite. When I joined the Illinois National Guard in June of 1969, I was originally issued a 19-pound BAR. That didn’t cut it – I weighed only 135 pounds at the time. I quickly traded that BAR in for an M1 Garand…and as they say, the rest is history. Basic Training was my introduction to the M14, and my Advanced Infantry Training introduced me to the M16.

Upon returning to my National Guard unit, I became a full-time employee, and in short order, our M1 Garand rifles were replaced with brand-new Colt M16 rifles. Along with two other new full-time employees, I was tasked with training everyone in the battalion with the new M16 rifles. In the meantime, I joined the state rifle and pistol team and we were issued match-grade M14s and 1911 pistols that we used in competition.

So, I have a long history with the M16 and the civilian version called the AR-15 – and Colt used that name (AR-15) before a lot of other rifles makers jumped on board, and were also producing semi-auto only versions of the M16 – and even today, anything that resembles an AR-15 – by whatever name it is called is still referred to as an AR or an AR-15.

Today we’re looking at a new breed of rifle from Springfield Armory called the Hellion, and it is not an AR, no matter which way you look at it. It is a Bullpup design, and that means that the “action” portion of the rifle is behind the trigger guard, allowing for a very compact design, but it still has a 16-inch barrel to get the most out of ballistics.Continue reading“Springfield Armory Hellion, by Pat Cascio”