Zero Tolerance 0357BW, by Pat Cascio

Before Zero Tolerance (ZT) knives came out, I was touring the Kershaw Knives factory, and I was sworn to secrecy, about the new ZT line of knives that they were coming out with. Needless to say, it was hard to keep it all secret, but I did. Many months later, the ZT line of knives became a reality. I had several samples of the first ZT knives given to me during the tour, and several more were sent to me, for testing some time after my tour. I was really impressed with the products I saw and tested – and I still am!

All Zero Tolerance knives, are made in the good ol’ USA – right here in my home state of Oregon. And I say, it’s really tough to top most things that are made in the USA. Maybe I’m biased – but I don’t think so. Yeah, a lot of knives are made overseas, and some of them have great quality. And by being manufactured overseas, the consumer saves a lot of hard-earned money, too. Still, I prefer made-in-USA products.

The ZT lineup was designed for hard use, and that means military and law enforcement – however, the sales of ZT products are not restricted to military and law enforcement. The public can purchase these knives, as well. Over the years, I can attest that almost all of the ZT line is what I’d call “over-built” and that’s not a bad thing at all, their products are meant for super hard use, especially when it comes to military use – where knives are used every day, for regular chores, or in harsh combat conditions. You’ve got to have a knife that you know won’t fail you, no matter what you put it through.Continue reading“Zero Tolerance 0357BW, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Mrs. Alaska’s Horseradish Sauce

The following Horseradish Sauce recipe is from Mrs. Alaska.

Mrs. Alaska’s Introductory Note: 

“Horseradish is the northerner’s alternative to spicy peppers, that do not grow well in our short summer season and seem milder in flavor, too.  It has several advantages.

1) It is a perennial plant.  In certain locations, it is so prolific it is considered invasive, so many people who grow it are happy to share or trade plants.  We got our first three plants in barter for our honey.

2) You can make your sauce hotter or milder by choosing when you add the vinegar, which stops the enzymatic action of the plant’s sulfur compounds.

3) You can harvest part of the root in early spring or late fall, replant, and let it continue to grow for years.

4) The young leaves are edible too, much milder than the root.

5) A little root goes a long way.

Your sauce will be MILDER by adding the vinegar to the roots as soon as you cut them.  You can make your sauce HOTTER by delaying the vinegar – one friend waits 45 minutes!  Personally, I like 20 minutes.

You can color your sauce by adding other plants that grow nearby, like red beets or the spicy green leaves of nasturtium, or the citrusy leaves of sorrel.

Enjoy!”

Ingredients
  • ¼ cup of horseradish root with its skin scraped off and then grated or chopped finely.
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¾ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp – 1 TBS vinegar  (to taste)
  • 1 tsp – 1 TBS dijon mustard (to taste)
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)
Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.
STORAGE

This sauce has about the same refrigerated storage life as the shortest shelf-life ingredient: sour cream or yogurt

—

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column, we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at Bidenflation. (See the Inflation Watch section.)

Precious Metals:

Arkadiusz Sieroń: 2022 – The Year Of (Gold) Inflation?

o  o  o

Christopher Weber: Silver will show the way.

Economy & Finance:

Dr. Ron Paul, over at Redoubt News: Is the Crack-up Boom Here?

o  o  o

Be Ready for a 30-70% Stock Market Crash in 2022.

o  o  o

This is why Glenn Beck thinks the economy won’t get better in 2022.

o  o  o

Will the Fed raise interest rates in 2022? Here’s what experts are saying.

o  o  o

Wolf Street had this report: Fed Drains $1.9 Trillion in Liquidity from Market via Overnight Reverse Repos.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 2, 2022

On this date in 1936, the first night vision electron tube was revealed in St. Louis, Missouri.

—

January 2nd, 1776 is the anniversary of the first revolutionary flag to be displayed.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 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 free 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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 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.

A North American Holocaust? – Part 2, by SaraSue

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

There are so many more survivor testimonies, that I couldn’t write about all of them. You can find them on YouTube, and there are documentaries and books that have been written. You might think it terribly maudlin to spend the time to listen to the survivor testimonies. I allowed myself to mentally and emotionally descend into the horror of each testimony. My goal? I wanted to understand how a “normal society” could possibly be convinced to demonize a whole group of people.

How could neighbors, friends, and family turn against one another to the point of death? I assume being disarmed early on was one of the keys to the Nazi’s success. But, the other keys are found in the pervasive propaganda programs that started early and reached down to the youth. We are seeing that kind of propaganda now through the government, media, education, and corporations who hired “Equity and Diversity Managers”. These managers are almost always haters of anyone they consider to be different than what they were taught in Higher Education to be acceptable – very biased, often calling themselves “Progressives”. That’s a broad stroke, so apologies to anyone in that role who seeks to ferret out true inequalities. I’ve taken a broad stroke against “Christians” in this article too, so please forgive.

If you teach a small child that certain things, especially certain people, are diseased, filthy, unfit, not human, and deserve what they get, I can see how the brainwashing could be effective. I can’t quite comprehend the propaganda having an affect on adults though. But, it did, and it was very successful. Those people were threatened, on pain of death, at the end of a rifle barrel, to comply. A small part of me understands, but not the whole part of me.

When I was little, I remember being taught that Jesus Loves all the Little Children, no matter what they looked like or where they came from. Yes, I could see the small remains of prejudice in my own parents, which they would quickly call themselves out on. The lessons from the World Wars were fresh in their minds because their parents had impressed it upon them. They in turn, impressed it upon us.Continue reading“A North American Holocaust? – Part 2, by SaraSue”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” – 1 Peter 4 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — January 1, 2022

Today is the birthday of Jacob Snider (January 1, 1811 – August 18, 1866). He was an American mechanical engineer and inventor. He designed and patented a method of converting existing muzzle-loading rifles into breech-loading rifles, notably the Snider-Enfield.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 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 free 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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 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.

A North American Holocaust? – Part 1, by SaraSue

I spent some time during the Holidays studying the history of the Holocaust. Why? Well, I had some downtime due to my body not cooperating which required my feet to be elevated. When this happens I like to research various topics while resting. Secondly, something has been really bothering me and I wanted to get some answers for myself. I thought my experience might be typical for some of yours, so I thought I would share it. These are my thoughts and observations from holocaust survivor testimonies and how I think it relates to our current reality.

I have a sister who has demonized me because of my political views. I never noticed it much and always “forgave her” when she was rude. I love her, and we had been very close all our growing up years. I was her sounding board and always encouraged her through her various life trials, no matter what was going on in my personal life. I thought we were good friends.

The change in our relationship began subtly. When I was on FaceBook, many, many, years ago, she refused to “friend” me. I thought that odd, but I ignored it. She had started attending a very “liberal” church, in my opinion. She had become accusatory and critical over the years of everyone whom she thought was “prejudiced” in some form or another, and that included myself and all of my siblings. When our father died, she completely lost it and lashed out at everyone. I forgave her. Grief is a difficult thing for so many. Our father was a Veteran, a very conservative man in Faith and Life, yet generous to a fault. He was beloved by all his children. She brought in a female “pastor” from her church to pray over him before he died, and I wondered what he was thinking. He probably thought the woman was just another friend of my sister, and he would pray with anyone. I thought my sister’s grief had driven her mad so I excused her.

The straw that broke the camel’s back in our relationship was on January 6th, 2021 when the Capitol Complex experienced chaos, both real and manufactured. She texted me and my other family members individually, and if you could scream on text messaging she did that. Somehow any of us who had voted for Trump (the majority in my family) who lived about 3,000 miles away from D.C., were to blame for that mess. I was so stunned that I couldn’t respond to her. As this past year has progressed, I noticed that she believed everything the government and media dished out and was very pious in her faith but liberal in her lifestyle. She continued to be critical of everyone else. I was very hurt by her behavior, but I’ve now come to terms with the fact that she will not change.

At any rate, I wanted to understand how people could be brainwashed by their government, the media, their church, and other sources. I wanted to understand how people could become so pious and unaware of their own behavior that they would turn on their family members. I felt I needed to understand this strange facet of human behavior so I could emotionally move on in a positive direction. And I also wanted to be acutely aware of the signs that someone would betray their own family members, especially now during the times we are in. It almost boils down to a safety factor for me. So, onto what I learned from the holocaust survivor testimonies while I was resting. I think I watched at least 20 hours of testimony, mostly from women.

Most of the interviewees had very normal, some very nice, middle-class lives prior to the war, but many were the only survivors in their families. Very few of the ones I watched were “very religious”. They described an integrated, assimilated, life in Germany and Poland. A lot of them described growing up in very loving homes and having happy lives. They described celebrating the traditional Jewish holidays, but didn’t necessarily have a “kosher home”. They had friends of all stripes and were shocked that their neighbors and friends rejected them and turned on them. Some got out early, before World War II, as they could see the handwriting on the wall. But, most did not think, according to the testimonies that I watched, that the war would last, and certainly didn’t think they would be targeted like they were.Continue reading“A North American Holocaust? – Part 1, by SaraSue”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

Happy New Year, folks!

It has felt good to get back into our deep winter routine. Lily has the indoor greenhouse trays already growing and producing salad greens. I snowplow our road and barnyard/parking area once every few days (as needed), and we keep the woodstove constantly fed. On alternating days I refill the woodbox that is near the stove. And every day we check on the main stock tank and its heater, feed the sheep, feed the cows and horses, and feed the chickens and collect eggs. There are also some smaller water buckets that need a daily rinse and re-filling. I have my once-a-week routines, as well: A trip to town to check on incoming mail and to mail out Elk Creek Company packages, and rolling a dozen or more bales of hay off of the top of the pile — to make them handy for whoever is feeding the bovines, equines, and ovines.

I enjoy the quiet and serene pace of deep winter. I get a lot of writing done, and I have more free time available for repair and renovation projects around the house. At this time of year, we all seem to have more time available for reading and playing board games. (The most recent favorites for our family are Scrabble and Ticket To Ride – Europe.)

The highlight of each week is our group Bible study. Our group meets in a home that is less than 15 miles away — which is “practically next door” by American Redoubt standards. It is the most in-depth study I’ve ever participated in. There is a lot of topical study, apologetics, history, Holy Lands’ geography, and brief dives into Greek and Hebrew. The studies on prophecy and eschatology would be enough to overwhelm any “baby Christian.” I feel truly blessed to be a member of that study group. It is a great time of fellowship, around mostly gray-hairs, like myself.

Thusfar, this fall and winter, we’ve had about three feet of snow, but it has compacted down to about 18 inches. But in actuality, that is just a trifling amount. I have some relatives with a cabin in the High Sierras of California. They tell me that they already have eight feet on the ground and may get more than 18 feet of snow this year!

With all of the recent snow, we had a pair of “leaner” fir trees go almost fully down across one of our fences. So I picked a sunny but brisk day (12 Degrees F.) and cut them up with my chainsaw. For safety, I had to work very deliberately and slowly each time I took a step–since I was on a slope and my Kamik boots were postholing through 20+ inches of crusted snow. I piled the limbs into a slash pile to burn in April or May. Thankfully, the trees had apparently both bent down slowly under snow load, so they did very little damage to the wire mesh field fence.

Now, over to Lily…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

A Special January 1st Note From JWR:  I recommend The Bible in a Year website for anyone who would like to make the personal commitment of reading through the entire King James Version (KJV) Bible in calendar year 2022, via daily readings.

—

“And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.

And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,

And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back:

And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,

But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him.

And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.

And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.

And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.

And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!

And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:

For the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.” – 1 Kings 13 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — December 31, 2021

December 31st, 1851 was the birthday of Frederick Selous. He died on January 4th, 1917.

And this is also the birthday of Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 98 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 free 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 Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  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. 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. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 98 ends on January 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.

Readying Your Family: Count The Costs

As I’ve mentioned in previous essays, I believe that We Are Living In The Age of Deception and Betrayal (WALITAODAB). Looking back on the trauma and drama of 2020 and 2021, please consider some of the questions that you must ask yourself and the choices that you may have to make in the next few years:

1.) First and foremost, are you right with God? If not, then repent and commit your life to Christ Jesus. (Yeshua, the Messiah.) Salvation in Christ is there for the asking, but you must be saved.

2.) Are you living in a truly safe place? We must decide what is more important: Our cushy suburban comforts and “stability” — or our personal freedom and a higher chance of surviving a disaster. Many of the 50 States have enacted laws or begun enforcing gubernatorial decrees that are severely restricting our ability to carry out free commerce and to have freedom of association.  Meanwhile, there is a stark dichotomy in gun laws. The “Blue” states are enacting more restrictions, while the “Red” states are rolling back restrictions–most notably for Constitutional Carry. Vote with your feet!

3.) Are you financially prepared for what is coming? We have been enjoying a Fantasyland Economy for about the past 20 years. Since soon after the Dot.com Bubble market crash of 2000, the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve private banking cartel began conspiring to keep interest rates artificially low, and they created Quantitative Easing (QE). More recently, they began handing  “stimulus” money. Most of that was created out of thin air. While those steps artificially stimulated the economy, forestalled or shortened recessions, and drove higher equity share prices, they have essentially destroyed the value of the U.S. Dollar. How much longer will Americans and foreign investors continue playing along with this charade? What will happen when the monetary and financial systems inevitably collapse in mass inflation?  What will you do, to prepare yourself to survive this collapse? How will you position yourself, with physical preparations, your choice of locale, and how you’ve structured your investment portfolio? Have you closely examined what portions of your investments are tangible versus those that are mostly intangible or even just conceptual?

4.) Have you divided/dispersed/hidden your stored food, weapons, precious metals, and barter goods? Keep in mind that there are two types of looters. The second and worst sort wear or carry badges.

5.) Are you in good physical condition and are you maintaining proper body weight?

6. Have you teamed up with trustworthy and like-minded friends? Do you train together?

7.) Have you kept current with your firearms, first aid, and communications training?

8.) You probably have a good assortment of guns, ammunition, and magazines, but do you have an intrusion detection system, night vision equipment, body armor, plate carriers, holsters, and magazine pouches?

9.) Have you done your best to become self-sufficient?Continue reading“Readying Your Family: Count The Costs”

December 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance and the factors that affected gold prices.

What Did Gold Do in December?

Gold prices continued having difficulty in moving higher when they should have in December, but ended the month and the year back above $1,800. $1,780 proved to be the big support level this month. It was a seesaw month for gold, as prices would negate big losses a day or two later.

Part of this was “good news is bad news” and vice versa for gold. The Non-Farm Payrolls Report was a disaster, showing only 210,000 new jobs added in November, less than half the expected 543,000 new jobs. While the dollar was unfazed, investors stampeded into bonds and gold. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell from 1.43% to settle at 1.36%. Gold gained more than $20, almost exactly wiping out the previous day’s losses.

December 14th saw the highest monthly jump on record – up 9.6% – for producer prices, igniting fears of the Fed slashing QE to prepare for early rate hikes. Gold lost more than $15 on the news. Two days later, the worst PMI in years sent gold blasting $30 higher, just pennies away from $1,800

On December 17th, gold broke the $1,800 barrier at the close for the first time since Nov 22nd. It then fell below $1,800 for two sessions before climbing back again.

Rounding out the month, gold hit the high for the month on December 28, gaining $30 over the previous week’s lows. This attracted the year-end profit takers, who sent gold to $1,790 before buyers brought prices back up over $1,800.

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

INFLATION AND THE ECONOMY

“Pocketbook” inflation continues to rise, and Americans can’t keep up. Wages showed a year-to-year gain at 4.8% for November. However, at 6.8%, inflation outpaced those gains. Workers’ purchasing power actually fell 2%.

The mainstream financial press keeps making the mistake of taking rising nominal interest rates to mean that the opportunity costs of holding gold have gone up. But real rates are still solidly negative.Continue reading“December 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”