Your Firearms Safety Hunter Education Certificate, by LiberT.Y.

…off according to §97B.020 of the Minnesota state statutes you can’t obtain a hunting license if you were born after December 31, 1979 unless you follow the guidelines listed therein: FIREARMS SAFETY CERTIFICATE REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided in this section and section 97A.451, subdivisions 3 and 3b, a person born after December 31, 1979, may not obtain an annual license to take wild animals by firearms unless the person has: (1) a firearms safety certificate or equivalent certificate; (2) a driver’s license or identification card with a valid firearms safety qualification indicator issued under section 171.07, subdivision 13; (3) a previous hunting license with a valid firearms safety qualification indicator; (4) an apprentice-hunter validation issued under section 97B.022; or (5) other evidence indicating that the person has completed in this state or in another state a hunter safety course recognized by the department under a reciprocity agreement or certified…




Medical Action Sheets by K.B., M.D.- Part 2

…used elderberry concentrate. I have also read that flu and colds can be helped by a baking soda and water mix. It was on the box back 100 yrs ago. Now they are not allowed for whatever reason. K.B., M.D. Please be assured that what is stated above is safe and recommended by several organizations and medical professionals including the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Vitamin D Council who states that 10 days of 50,000 IU is safe, a statement that I am not comfortable with. I am however comfortable with using the one-day vitamin D hammer for healthy adults. As always, consult with your personal physician. Best wishes, K.B., M.D. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4463890/ https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/influenza/ https://vitamindwiki.com/Influenza+prevented+by+40+ng+levels+or+treated+with+vitamin+D+hammer+%2850%2C000+IU%29+%E2%80%93+June+2015 https://www.drtraviselliott.com/blog/ever-tried-vitamin-d-hammer/ https://www.fxmedicine.com.au/blog-post/vitamin-d-vs-flu-vaccine-there-stand-out-winner VT Influenza is a specific set of viruses and only mildly related to common viral colds and completely different from bacterial colds. The most telling sign is fever,influenza causes a violent…




Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread, by C.J.

…which is sold by Fleischmann’s needs to be mixed with warm water to become activated before adding it to the flour. Active dry yeast also requires a longer proofing time. If you want to use active dry yeast then keep both of those factors in mind. The best instant yeast I have found is made by the SAF company and is available through stores like GFS as well as from King Arthur Flour, online. I presently pay about $5.00 per pound for SAF yeast. Storing Dough in Your Freezer You can also make the bulk dough and freeze it. To do so, portion it out as you would for your loaves and place it in freezer bags. It will freeze well and I have not noticed any loss in flavor when baked a few weeks afterward. The most basic recipe is for a standard white bread. This recipe will utilize…




Cipher Security- Part 1, by East Sierra Sage

…of my network know to conduct a “standard rollover” on the “7th” of every month. Emergency Cypher Rollover I also designed procedures for establishing an “emergency rollover”. If we suspect that someone has compromised our system, or we suspect “Big Brother” is listening, we mention the code word in the cell “L4”. We do not actually say the words, “Hey friend, I think we have been compromised.” Instead, we simply broadcast: “Lima-four- Lima-four- Lima-four, I say again, Lima-four- Lima-four- Lima-four.” When the other party or parties hear this, they immediately ”roll-over” to the next designated cypher sheet. Whether it is an actual emergency may be debatable among you readers, but in our network we have agreed that if we have been compromised, it’s an emergency!!! Comprehensive Cypher Sheets My cypher sheets are comprehensive, not complex. I create the document in portrait setting. Then I make vertical cells which are lettered…




Letter Re: Do It Yourself Kydex Sheaths and Holsters

…try my hand at molding Kydex.  For those of you that do not know, Kydex is the trade name for a propriety thermoplastic sheet.  It’s rigid and strong, but when heated to about 330-380° it becomes pliable. (The sheet will burn at a temperature greater than 400°F).  Kydex does not have a memory, so that once it has cooled; it retains the shape it was molded to fit.  Kydex is not the only plastic compound that has this property, but what makes Kydex so valuable to do-it-yourselfers is that unlike other heat formable plastics like PVC, Kydex will not off gas toxic fumes at normal forming temperatures.   Most people use either an oven (full size or toaster depending on the size of Kydex your working with), or a heat gun.  It really depends on the thickness of the Kydex your working with, and how big of a piece your…




Shortages Can Induce Deep Drama, and Making Do-It-Yourself Fire Logs, by Heghduq

…that sheet around the broomhandle by rolling it away from you until it has almost wrapped itself around the broomhandle. Return the broomhandle with the paper rolled on it to the starting position and tuck the next sheet between the roll and the first sheet. Continue this process until you have made a “log” of the desired diameter. Finish by the addition of a few spots of glue to fasten the outermost sheet. Remove the broomhandle form, by twisting it within the formed “log.” Kids like to use the colored sheets from the Sunday paper as the top cover sheet. These logs can be made from almost any paper product if there is plenty around. You can also use cardboard for this but it will be a bit more difficult and you will have to compress the cardboard for before rolling to remove the space that is made by the…




Letter Re: How to Obtain Your Amateur Radio License, by N.M.

Hello, I recently read author N.M’s article regarding how to obtain an Amateur Radio license. The article was well-written and provided a wealth of information for prospective Hams. I have been a licensed Amateur Radio operator since the early 1990s and have seen a lot of changes in the hobby. Some were good and some not so good, but that is a discussion better left to a lazy chair and a pot of coffee. The reason I am writing is I noticed something that is potentially problematic in N.M’s article. When discussing what radio to select, N.M. mentions the Yaesu FT-8900r, which operates on the 10m/6m/2m/70cm amateur radio bands. While this would indeed be a good radio for a newly-licensed technician, it should be noted that technician class operators would not be allowed to legally use this radio on the 10m band. While technician class operators do indeed have privileges…




Two Letters Re: How To Obtain Protein From Alternative Sources Without A Firearm

Dear HJL, Here’s a low-cost alternative to metal traps-– build a trapping pit. Trapping pits have been used since the Stone Age to put meat on the table. A deer trail or other evidence of animal activity is located, then a deep pit is dug and lined with stone or wood planks to prevent escape. Spikes or sharp sticks are mounted on the bottom of the pit to kill or injure the prey, and the hole is covered with a tarp or branches to disguise it. My family has stored up a dozen or so 4’ re-bars and a couple of camo tarps to build an animal pit in the woods adjoining our property, should the SHTF. o o o Hi, I had a comment on Rockvault’s excellent article on “How To Obtain Protein From Alternative Sources Without A Firearm”. In addition to the protein sources he listed, you should…




Systematic Efforts by the U.S. Forest Service to Take Control of Private Water Rights, by W.W.

…the title owner will lose their special use permit if they do anything with the water without F.S. approval. The rule also prohibits the applicant from selling the water rights. Those new rules can also be found online. At this point, you may be asking yourself why does this matter for anyone other than ski areas? The problem is that similar rules have been put in place for grazing permits. Moreover, comments have been made during state and federal committee testimony suggesting a desire by the F.S. and the BLM to adopt these rules more broadly once the F.S. gains a foothold. The concern over these actions was so great that Senator Tipton introduced a bill that would block these efforts. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated. Some information can be found on this bill on Senator Tiptons Web site. Colorado also attempted stop the F.S with the introduction of House…




Medical Insurance for Prepared American Families, by Pat C.

The American healthcare system is collapsing and it will continue to do so no matter what comes out of the current debates in Washington. As a result, healthcare in the United States will continue to rise in cost. Worse, healthcare will become difficult to obtain; specialty care is already scarce in some areas and many rural counties do not have even one doctor who will accept Medicare patients. There are many reasons for these developments that are too complicated to outline here but it’s important to be aware of these trends because they will affect your ability to obtain care when you need it. Directly related to the healthcare system is the health insurance system which is equally a mess. Following are what I’ve learned in the past 30 years as a health insurance broker in a western state: Why You Need Insurance As an insurance broker, I constantly meet…




Shooting on a Shoestring, by John M.

…something you’re interested in, you can get on the ‘Net and check out the reviews.  An easy way to do that is to Google search the firearm you’ve got your eye on. [JWR Adds: I have found GunBroker.com, AuctionArms.com, and GunsAmerica.com to be excellent sources. The new GunListings.org page might also prove useful. To keep your gun buying both legal and private, at some of these web sites you can use an “Advanced Search” feature to limit your searches by State, and to only private seller listings. I strongly recommend that you buy only from private parties if that is legal in your locality. Of course consult your state and local laws first!] If you’re not concerned about the paperwork involved with buying a firearm in a retail gun store, you’ll find that pawn shops and sporting goods outlets often stock used or consigned weapons at reasonable prices.  Some shops…




Advance Your Shooting Ability, by Steve Mc

…seconds. We all need to dry practice more than we do, but we are confident that if and when the need arises the .45ACP is MUCH more effect round than the puny 9mm. One of my cousins carries a .40cal Glock. He is former Special Forces soldier and picked the .40 as a compromise round. It stops almost as well as the .45ACP and is readily available and reasonably priced because so many law enforcement agencies use the round. The 9mm vs .45ACP comparison is similar to the 5.56 to 7.62×51 comparison. In both cases, if you want to stop an assailant, bigger really is better. Real world battlefield and law enforcement examples testify of this in both cases. D.D. Glad I made you laugh Muddy, but the editors are correct. Sometimes I forget the Golden Rule laid out by Deputy Barney Fife so many years ago: “Don’t be facetious…




A Practical Utilitarian’s Take On Firearms and Calibers, by Kyrottimus

…they are boringly reliable. They really don’t have anything on them that will wear out, except for maybe the barrel way down the road. And if you’re using a good rifle with an as-new hammer-forged, chrome-lined ComBloc or Chinese barrel, your barrel-life will see 30,000-to-40,000 rounds before your groups start to open up. If built with proper parts, headspaced correctly and/or assembled by a competent smith (such as T. Mark Graham of Arizona Response Systems, one of the best), they are more than reasonably accurate too if you feed it with good ammo (like Golden Tiger). While not as light as the AR carbines, these carbines balance well and are usually found to weigh between 7-8 pounds unloaded (depending on furniture and magazine composition). They are the jack-of-all-trades carbine. While they are only really best as a super-reliable “all weather rifle” (by “all weather”, I mean the ‘-40C frozen with…




A Secure Compound, Off Grid, by Steve R.

…on the wood burner overnight and prepared the day before. Wood burners are reliable and eliminate the need to use propane for heating and cooking during the winter months. Propane may be a hard commodity to find as well as firewood, so plan ahead. Chainsaw(s) are essential, and the more expensive, the better. Husqvarna and Stihl are the best chainsaws in my opinion, and cords of wood are mandatory. Without a fireplace or stove, and a reliable chainsaw, you are done! Winter months can be brutal, and you will need these items to survive. Gas reserves, 2-stroke oil, and propane will make life much more comfortable during the winter months. Make sure you have resources near you, and plan on extra fuel for your pick-up truck or SUV with a trailer to transport your firewood. Power comes next. Power is critical. Relying on the power grid is stupid. The best…




Diabetics in Disasters, by Meir L.

…date on testing strips. I think that the expiration date for the testing strips is bogus. My cousin has used testing strips past their expiration dates, and the readings are correct. It is most probably a company ploy to get you to buy more testing strips. If the machine gives you trouble, move the date on the machine back to accommodate the date on the testing strips. Extra batteries This is pretty obvious, but you need to have many batteries stocked up. As I said before, all or most of your glucometers should be battery powered. Stockpiling As with insulin, you should always keep a very big stock of testing strips. Ask your doctor to write a prescription for 10 tests a day. This should give a nice amount of extra testing strips a month. Syringes This can be a very touchy subject, but when it comes to survival, you…