The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is 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. In today’s column, we look at Sales Tax Holidays.

Texas: Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday

Texas has announced an Emergency Preparation Supplies Sales Tax Holiday that will run April 22-24, 2023.

And for folks living in other states: Sales Tax Holidays.

Tax holidays represent a good time to stock up. Under Texas law, these emergency preparation supplies qualify for tax exemption during the holiday:

  • Less than $3000
    • Portable generators.
  • Less than $300
    • Emergency ladders.
    • Hurricane shutters.
  • Less than $75
    • Axes.
    • Batteries, single or multipack (AAA cell, AA cell, C cell, D cell, 6 volt or 9 volt).
    • Can openers – nonelectric.
    • Carbon monoxide detectors.
    • Coolers and ice chests for food storage – nonelectric.
    • Fire extinguishers.
    • First aid kits.
    • Fuel containers.
    • Ground anchor systems and tie-down kits.
    • Hatchets.
    • Ice products – reusable and artificial.
    • Light sources – portable self-powered (including battery operated).
      • Examples of items include: candles, flashlights and lanterns.
    • Mobile telephone batteries and mobile telephone chargers.
    • Radios – portable self-powered (including battery operated) – includes two-way and weather band radios.
    • Smoke detectors.
    • Tarps and other plastic sheeting.

Bank Accounts of Murder Victims Drained Via Facial Recognition Tech

This piece at Fox News comes to us courtesy of blog reader C.B.: Bank accounts of New York ‘roofie murder’ victims drained via facial recognition technology.Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — April 12, 2023

April 12th is the birthday of the late novelist Tom Clancy. (Born 1947, died October 1, 2013). It was Clancy who almost single-handedly created the modern techno-thriller genre, with his first novel, The Hunt For Red October.

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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.

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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 105 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.

Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.)

Antennas, Expedient Techniques, and Construction Methods
A radio tech should be sure to have several SWR meters, one of which is for the 11-meter band, and have the ability to improvise and construct antennas of all kinds — even if it is only a dipole.  For CB, an expedient 1/2 wave dipole (216-inches long) made from coaxial cable propagates much better than a 52″ long 1/8-wave ground plane CB antenna. CBs have a very long radio wave as compared to UHF/VHF radio and thus require much taller and larger antennas to propagate to their full potential.  In a future disaster, there will be lots of vintage mobile CBs dug out of storage and pressed into service. Yet without an antenna, these radios will not be serviceable.
In a disaster, there will be a serious lack of even the most popular and widely used PL259 and BNC Male connectors. So buy them inexpensively and in bulk now, as well as other connectors and cables. Most radios have a SO-239 (aka “UHF”) connector for the antenna cable to attach to the radio. I have many times improvised by constructing an inner pin with folded wire and solder, or no solder and secured the cable to the radio using the shield from the coaxial cable and stout wire wrapped around the shielding and the threads of the SO239 panel connector. The SWRs checked properly.  However “lossy” the connection, it works.  This is the kind of improvisation that will be needed. It will be apropos for times when using RG59 or RG6 72-ohm coaxial television cable as this cable has an outer shielding that is most often made with aluminum instead of steel or copper and hence cannot be soldered. Crimp-on connectors can be used with standard television cable.  But solder-type PL259 connectors can be used with RG59/RG6, if there is RG58/RG8x cable reducer available. Simply bend the outer shielding back over the forward end of the RG58 reducer/insert and tighten it well.

Continue reading“Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: 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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Please continue to pray for the full restoration of health, for Pat Cascio. His recovery from a stroke has been difficult.

o  o  o

The two most recent gender-confused mass shootings have the liberals in full-fledged screaming “do something!” mode. I suspect that will come in the form of a raft of executive orders from Creepy-Sniffy Joe’s West Wing staff. They might try some quite outlandish ones. But at the minimum, I expect them to ban a lot of imports.  They have plenty of precedents for that. Full-capacity magazines, parts sets, and semi-auto firearms of all descriptions will probably get import-banned.  SIG, HK, Beretta, FN, CZ, and Glock make some, but not all of their magazines here in the States.  (SIG recently announced that they will be ramping up stateside production, but that won’t be nearly enough to fill the demand if there is an import ban announced.)

Take note that Austrian-made Glock magazines are stamped “AUSTRIA”, but their US-made mags just have a part number. So, obviously, a large percentage of their magazines are still made in Austria. And Springfield Armory sources most of their pistol magazines in Croatia.

So, if you own any guns for which the magazines are imported, then it would be wise to order a lifetime supply of those magazines for you and your progeny immediately. I’ve mentioned several good suppliers with competitive prices in SurvivalBlog several times, such as GunMag Warehouse, Brownells, Keep Shooting, Natchez, Midway, and Palmetto State Armory.  I should mention that FN, SIG, and HK also sell some magazines directly in the US, but they only rarely discount them. (Ful disclosure: I have an affiliate relationship with some of the aforementioned companies.)

I’m primarily an aficionado of American-made guns, but if I were a collector of European guns, then my Magazine Panic Buy List might look something like this:

30 ea. – SIG P320 21-rd. factory 9mm mags

20 ea. – SIG P320 30-rd. factory 9mm mags

20 ea. – Magazines for each of my Springfield Armory XD series pistols (Croatian-sourced)

25 ea. – CZ Scorpion 9mm 30-rd. mags

20 ea. – CZ-75 9mm mags

12 ea. – Factory HK 93 magazines (all were made in Germany)

16 ea. – Factory HK 94/MP5 magazines (all were made in Germany)

12 ea. – Factory SIG magazines (all were made in Switzerland)

50 ea. – .45 ACP KCI (Korean) Glock 26-rd. extended mags

100 ea. – 9mm KCI (Korean) Glock 32-rd. extended mags

15 ea. – B&T 30-Round 9mm magazines for USW/CZ-75

80 ea. – AK-47 40 rd. mags

15 ea – Beretta factory 30-rd. M92 mags

20 ea – FN Factory FN FiveSeven pistol mags

30 ea – FN Factory FN 5.7 rifle mags

12 ea. – FN SCAR magazines

Your mileage may vary. Tailor your own list to match your collection. Again, imported magazines should be your highest priority.  If in doubt about the capacity to choose, go big. If there is a ban, it will be easier to trade big magazines for smaller ones. Trading vice versa will be far less advantageous.

Oh, and if you’ve been wanting to buy any imported semi-auto gun, then go ahead and buy it soon. But be sure to get their requisite spare magazines on order, first. As my old friend Bob Griswold of Readymade Resources says: “Panic now, and beat the rush.” – JWR

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — April 11, 2023

April 11th is the birthday of John Milius, who was born in 1944. He both wrote the screenplays and directed the films Dillinger, The Wind and the Lion, Big Wednesday, Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn, Farewell to the King, and Flight of the Intruder. He also wrote the screenplays of the first two Dirty Harry movies as well as the first draft of the screenplay for Patton (before Francis Ford Coppola turned it into a vaguely anti-war commentary laced with references to reincarnation). Milius also co-wrote the screenplay for Jeremiah Johnson. Milius is my favorite Hollywood writer and director, in part because he stands for everything that Hollywood doesn’t.

A video biography on John Milius is available for free download on Vudu.

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Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC (11 April 1832 – 8 May 1907) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also a designer and inventor of firearms including the Webley-Fosbery revolver and the Paradox 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.

 

Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Long-term survival necessarily requires a community that can sustain itself.  As I have no family, I am more focused on this objective than those who must be concerned with a family to feed.  However, this topic should be of more concern to those with progeny to consider.  Without a plan in place and in action now, we might as well be planning to fail. A plan, any plan, is better than no plan.  The process of continually planning is also more important than any one plan,  As a rule, we should be continually be assessing a changing environment and discovering new information, and continually learning, and henceforth, we should be continually improving our plans. Hopefully, this article can supply the reader with a template they can use on a larger or smaller scale plan.

Location, Location, Location

Being located and involved with a community that is mostly like-minded, and has the necessary resources, is essential. If we have studied Group Dynamics, then we know that the smaller the group, the stronger the sense of community, and the greater cohesion. A larger community is less desirable than a smaller community in any assessment if the smaller community also processes the necessary resources, and the correct mixture of skills and knowledge.  I’ve noted over the decades, that the further away from the land are we, the less down-to-earth we tend to be, the more egocentric, and the further away from God we become.

As important as any other factor in my calculus is that an agrarian society of the correct size would have the strongest sense of community, and enough horse sense to work together, and the necessary resources. Unfortunately, my neighbors are not predominately Amish, or agrarian, yet survivalists represent an abnormally high concentration and percentage of the demographic. If we are not located in such a place, then a community communications plan is of less importance. In any case, the article can be helpful to those who only have a smaller number of group members to work with.Continue reading“Commo for Family, Group, or Community – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit”

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, a report of heavy April snowfall in Casper, Wyoming. (See the Wyoming section.)

Region-Wide

Wallowa County voters respond to ‘Greater Idaho’ ahead of May election.

o  o  o

Oregon residents may secede over ‘east-west’ political divide: ‘Not a unified state to me anymore’.

o  o  o

10 Most Conservative Cities in America. JWR’s Comment: Not surprisingly, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Great Falls, Montana made the list.

o  o  o

Yet another attempt by a left-leaning newspaper to make the American Redoubt movement look racist: Idaho at the epicenter of American Redoubt, white Christian nationalism movement. JWR’s Comments:  Once again, a journalist has slapped on the false “racist” label, ignoring facts. These journalists never mention the blacks and Asians involved in the movement. Nor do they ever mention that since the very beginning when I launched the movement, I have encouraged both conservative Christians and Jews to relocate to the Redoubt region. Shame on Bob Kustra and The Idaho Statesman newspaper for publishing this attempt to unfairly tar the American Redoubt movement.

Idaho

Idaho becomes second state to make gender-affirming health care for minors a felony.  JWR’s Comment: Note the way that the writer at the left-wing site The Hill phrased this article.  Bias in the mass media is pernicious.

o  o  o

A Welcome Rethink on Ranked-Choice Voting: Idaho joins other states in banning the confusing election system. This Wall Street Journal article begins:

“Progressives want to impose the system known as ranked-choice voting around the country, which is a good reason to pause and ask why. That now seems to be happening, as Idaho becomes the latest state to put the brakes on a confusing system that has produced dubious outcomes.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little in late March signed a bill prohibiting county election officials from using ranked-choice voting (RCV) in any local, statewide or federal election.”

o  o  o

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs bill banning employers from requiring coronavirus vaccines.

o  o  o

Sources: ID from Idaho killings found in Kohberger home searches.

o  o  o

Jury set in Lori Vallow-Daybell trial.

o  o  o

Idaho state fishing record shattered by 5-year-old girl one cast at time.

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

Preparedness Notes for Monday — April 10, 2023

In its third year of operation, the U.S. Navy nuclear submarine Thresher (SSN-593) tragically went down 60 years ago today, with the loss of all hands: 129 men.

April 10, 1827 was the birthday of General Lew Wallace.

April 10th, 1796 was the birthday of James Jim Bowie, who died March 6th, 1836 at the Battle of the Alamo.

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A reminder:  For anyone who is interested in investing in a recession-proof business, the Harvest Guard canning lids plastics company is being offered for sale.

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Today’s feature article is a review written by the SurvivalBlog staff’s Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

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I’m still recovering from my illness. Hopefully, I’ll be back to my full roster of regular posts tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience, folks. – JWR

Siege Stove Titanium Gen 4 Flat-Pack, By Tom Christianson

The appetizing aroma of roasting venison wafted enticingly from the twig stove in front of me. The sound of sizzling meat coming from the folding grill on the top of the stove reinforced the attraction. I rotated the grill from time to time to allow the venison steaks to cook evenly on each side. After about 20 minutes, the steaks appeared to be fully cooked. I removed the folding grill from the stove, opened it, and cut one of the steaks with my EDC knife to make sure it was fully cooked. It proved to be well-done. I used my knife to spear each steak to move it from the folding grill to the serving plate. I then took the steaks inside for dinner and thus completed this most enjoyable aspect of Siege Stove testing.

Background

I really like twig stoves. They are light, they are easy to use, and I have a virtually unlimited supply of fuel growing in the woods around my home.

On June 11, 2021, SurvivalBlog published my review of a couple of twig stoves. They were both pretty good stoves. I then ran across Pat Casico’s April 8, 2019 review of Siege Stoves in SurvivalBlog. The Siege Stove titanium flat-pack sounded especially interesting. So when Mr. James Fisher of Siege Stoves recently invited me to test their titanium flat-pack stove, I jumped at the chance. Five days later, a package containing the stove arrived in the mail.Continue reading“Siege Stove Titanium Gen 4 Flat-Pack, By Tom Christianson”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

Meme Text:

If Inflation is Under Control…

Then Why Does Their Acronym Keep Getting Longer and Longer?

News Links: 

Ontario NDP urges legal protections for drag shows.

You never thought totalitarianism would look like this.

2SLGBTQQIA+ people are ‘running out of letters’

JWR’s Comment:  When a country’s law reaches the point where it criminalizes making “harmful remarks” about perversion, then the law and the nation itself has become truly perverted.

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.” – Matthew 28:1-7 (KJV)