Ready Made Resources Ultimate BOB Versus a Home-Built BOB, by Tunnel Rabbit

Examining Bob’s Big Bug Out Bag

Ready Made Resources lives up to its name in more than one way as a collection and outlet of some of the best prepping equipment and supplies. In total, it represents a substantial body of knowledge and experience, wrapped and stuffed onto a single website. Given that fact, no wonder customers are in awe of the variety and depth, and some consider Robert Griswald “King Prepper”. No doubt about it, as evidenced on the Internet, there must exist such a place hidden in the hills and hollers of Tennessee a veritable prepper’s dream warehouse. We press the buy button and the truck magically delivers. There is simply no other place like it, and their customer service is also first class.

As there is a treasure trove of good gear there, the hardcore survivalist would love to back up the pickup, or rather an 18-wheel truck. No wasting of time, we would make several trips and piles. Shopping until we drop, or like a dog in butcher shop, always looking for a bigger bone or better cut. It can be fun, but also exhausting.

Bob’s website is a great place to look, even if one doesn’t have the bucks, since we can indeed learn what is out there, and possibly what is the best. If one has the money, then do not hesitate as all the comparison shopping has already been done, and the bargain is in the time and sweat spared searching for the best. When it comes to a BOB, especially Bob’s Big BOB, we should remind ourselves that the more we know, the less we need to carry, and the older we get, the less we can carry. Instead of working harder, we gotta work smarter. So then, what is in the bag?Continue reading“Ready Made Resources Ultimate BOB Versus a Home-Built BOB, by Tunnel Rabbit”

November 2022 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 November

Gold started the month around $1,640 an ounce.  After dipping slightly to $1,630, prices powered $145 higher to the $1,775 area, leaving the $1,685 support level in the dust. Prices leaked lower in the third week of November, but held above the $1735 support line that signifies the floor gold must respect to signal a new short-term bull run. Prices regained lost ground to end the month above $1,770 an ounce.

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

THE FED

The Fed continued to call the shots in November. Markets took solace in an apparent change in trajectory for future rate hikes. Fed officials have signaled that next month’s rate hike with be 50 basis points instead of 75 bp, with markets presuming that the same will hold true in February.
The Fed tempered the good news by telegraphing that the top interest rate will be near 5% instead of the 4.5% – 4.75% previously targeted. St. Louis Fed president James Bullard had a more hawkish prognostication, of course. He stated that interest rates would have to be higher than 5%, perhaps up to 7%, in order to stop stubbornly high inflation.

DOLLAR

The dollar lost some of its power in November, as easing inflation numbers softened Fed rate hike rhetoric. The greenback had its worst day since 2009 on November 10th, after US CPI was reported to have only risen 7.7%, down from 8.2% and lower than projections of 7.9%. Gold shot $40 higher, and the Dow closed an amazing 1,200 points higher.

The greenback failed to reassurt its dominance for the rest of the month, allowing the euro to return to above parity, and helping gold prices in other currencies.

INFLATION / RECESSION

Europe is also starting to see the first tiny signs that inflation may be topping out. Composite EU CPI showed a larger than expected drop to 10.0%, down from 10.6%. This fueled hopes that the ECB might hike rates less than previously expected at their next meeting. Energy and food shortages will keep prices high and economies faltering, however, miring the region in stagflation.Continue reading“November 2022 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”

A 2022 Retrospective: America’s Negatrends

In place of our regular Odds ‘n Sods column for this week, we are presenting a late-2022 summary listing of negative societal trends — what I call negatrends — and political machinations, with some apropos links.

Please pray daily that our nation collectively repents and returns to a moral and righteous path and that our government is again restrained and respects our rights. – JWR

Some Key Negatrends

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You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Thanks!

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — November 30, 2022

Satirical novelist Jonathan Swift was born on November 30th, 1667.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 103 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. 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 transferable $150 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 103 ends today — November 30th. We are now queuing articles for Round 104. 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.

Preparedness Regrets and Priorities, by N.C.

We all have our own ideas of how much risk we’re running and what type of disaster seems the most likely threat. Your answer to that will depend largely on where you are. Doubtless, my focus would certainly be different if I lived in Germany and it would be different if I lived in Ukraine or in New Zealand. Since I live in the United States the one that has cost me more than a little sleep is the prospect of a civil war in the US. It used to be that this was an extreme subject, raised only rarely with those on your side (left and right both). Now? It’s a commonplace question/topic on news sources of all stripes and that change fills me with dread. I try to be upbeat and think that the violence and conflict might only be as bad as the labor unions and corporations (and their hired guns) in the times before the First World War. With an economic depression chaser. That’s me being optimistic.

Which is to say I am very inclined to agree that all signs point to “bad times ahead” but another question niggles at me: “when?” After all, survivalists have been around a long time now. Certainly, they had things to worry about in the 1950s. The very real possibility of thermonuclear war was nothing to sneeze at but that was 70 years ago. If you were in a position to prep back then you are staring down the business end of your 90s now. Similarly, I have read accounts of monks around 1000 AD who believed that end times were nigh if not here already. Those men had good reason to believe what they did but they are long gone. The old world is still turning.Continue reading“Preparedness Regrets and Priorities, by N.C.”

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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We’ll start off today’s column with this from SurvivalBlog reader B.G.: 17-Year-Old Hero Swoops Into Action After Officer Is Shot Right in Front of Her – Unmatched Bravery.

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C.B. was the first of several readers to send this:  Vaccinated Americans a majority of COVID deaths for first time in August: analysis.

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Viral Documentary “Died Suddenly” Banned On Twitter- Stew Peters Responds.

Here is a link to the documentary, over at the Odysee video site: Died Suddenly.

JWR’s Commentary:  Well, we can now dismiss any hopes that Elon Musk-era Twitter would become a Free Speech platform.

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Over at The New American: Protests and Quarantine Camps: Covid Tyranny Is Roiling China.

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They’re Going to Try to Put Gun Ban Language Into HR8404.

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Some fundamentals, explained, for a general audience: How Long Would Society Last During a Total Grid Collapse? (A hat tip to reader A.K. for the link.)

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — November 29, 2022

Today is the birthday of writer Clive Staples (“C.S.”) Lewis, who was born in 1898 and died 22 November, 1963.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 103 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. 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 transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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Just one day left!  Round 103 ends tomorrow — November 30th. We are now queuing articles for Round 104. 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.

The Prepper Potential of an Old Cell Phone, by Mr. Zipph

Over the years, I have read many articles on communications in a grid-down situation. Those articles typically focus on using ham radios or CB radios to communicate with other like-minded folks in a TEOTWAWKI scenario. I have also read articles focused on the importance of gathering and accessing important information that you would need if the Schumer hiints the fan (TSHTF). These articles typically discuss the importance of having hard-copy books and printed planning information, contact information, and other important information that would be valuable to have.

I first suggested the importance of a cell phone in preparedness efforts in a previous SurvivalBlog article: Preparedness Planning: The Business Trip. During that trip, I brought my iPhone which is my Everyday Carry (EDC) phone. Since I wrote that article, I prepared a second phone that could function as a backup, serve as an offline repository of information, and could also be utilized for communications in the event that I could obtain access to wifi, if my EDC phone was not available. At first blush, this exercise may seem to be a low priority in preparedness planning. However, I believe that it could be a helpful preparedness tool while traveling.

Many people have proposed that important documents and information should be kept on a flash drive. However, accessing that information would require that you have a computer in which to insert the flash drive. A cell phone is extremely portable. Wouldn’t it be easier to access it directly from a phone on which you have stored that information on the SD Card? This could be helpful if you were bugging out in a hurry. If needed, you could remove the SD card and plug it into a computer.

Scenarios where it might be useful:

  • Your primary cell phone is owned by your employer and you want to keep your preparedness life separate from your work life
  • A natural disaster causes widespread regional electricity and cell service outage
  • A grid down event while traveling
  • As a backup in the event that your EDC phone is stolen, lost or broken
  • As a backup in the event that authorities illegally confiscate your EDC phone

Continue reading“The Prepper Potential of an Old Cell Phone, by Mr. Zipph”

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, we present a special collection of videos on winter sports and travel.

Idaho

Coeur d’Alene: Remote Sledding in North Idaho.

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2021 Solo Backcountry Idaho Mule Deer Hunt Matt Tillotson.

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‘Crazy cowboys’ and ‘crazy skiers’ team up in skijoring, Idaho’s wildest winter sport.

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One More Ridge – An Idaho Mule Deer Hunt.

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Stanley Throws The Best Winter Party in Idaho.

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First aired in 1991: Winter Solitude — Outdoor Idaho.

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What Is Idaho Like in Fall and Winter?

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SKI Magazine ranks three Idaho resorts among top 30 in the west.

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Ronnie Renner Snow Biking in Idaho Backcountry.

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

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Little more can reasonably be aimed at, with respect to the people at large, than to have them properly armed and equipped; and in order to see that this be not neglected, it will be necessary to assemble them once or twice in the course of a year.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 29 January 9, 1788

Preparedness Notes for Monday — November 28, 2022

On November 28th, 1520, Magellan finally reached the Pacific Ocean after navigating the dangerous straits on the southern tip of South America that now bear his name. He became the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic.

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Today’s feature article was authored by our Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio.

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This is Cyber Monday — known as a day for deep discounts. Be sure to look for special pricing from our advertisers.  Please patronize our paid banner advertisers first. But if they don’t have what you are looking for, then see our lengthy list of affiliate advertisers.

Pistol Magazine Loaders — A Must For Some Shooters, by Pat Cascio

Getting old is no fun! Back in the day, I was able to load any type of magazines, with thumb power only. Sadly, along with old age, comes certain disabilities. To wit: I have terrible osteoarthritis in various parts of my body – not the least is lower back pain, that at times is debilitating to say the least. Next are my hands, and especially my right hand and fingers – they are misshapen. My trigger finger is the worst. But thankfuily, I can still pull a trigger!

Over the years, there have been efforts to produce manual magazine loaders, that are supposed to make loading some magazines a lot easier. Most of these were junk, but they still sell for some reason. Some years back, I tested and reviewed a magazine loader that was pretty impressive – it was similar to a reloading press, however it was a bit too big to lug around, especially out to the range.

Glock provides a simple plastic magazine loader with their double-column magazines, and it works fairly well. Whenever I get a new Glock, I load up the magazines that come with the gun, and let them sit for a couple weeks, after that, the magazines are a lot easier to load to capacity. As well-made as the Glock magazine loaders are, they tend to break if you apply too much pressure trying to get the rounds loaded.Continue reading“Pistol Magazine Loaders — A Must For Some Shooters, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Roasted Squash Seeds

The following recipe for Roasted Squash Seeds is from SurvivalBlog reader Mrs. Alaska. She writes:

“Why throw out the seeds of winter squash like butternut, acorn, spaghetti, and pumpkin?  You can roast them for a tasty seasonal snack. Or you feed them to poultry or save them to sow, next year.

For personal eating, I consider pumpkin seeds too woody a texture to be palatable (but I love pepitas, which are hulled pumpkin seeds).

The smaller, thinner seeds of other squash have a better texture and good flavor.  Here is how to roast squash seeds.

1)      Scoop out the seeds.

2)      Dump them into a tepid/warm salt water solution.  1 tsp per two cups of water is fine.

Note: The salinity slightly flavors the seeds but more importantly, breaks down the phytic acid (that preserves seeds until germination) so that the nutrients in the roasted seeds will be more bio-available to humans.  The soak also helps separate some of the slimy pulp from the seeds.

3)      Several hours later or the next day, pour the seeds into a colander.   Rinse, to help remove more pulp and to remove salt if you do not want that as a flavoring agent.

4)      Let the seeds dry out overnight.  You can’t roast wet seeds.  (I leave them in the colander in a cold oven). Do not dry them on a paper towel.  They will stick to the fabric.

COOKING:

In The Oven:

  1. Spread the dry seeds in a pan with sides (because some may pop and jump when hot).  Drizzle LIGHTLY with oil (olive, sesame, other) and sprinkle with flavoring agents of choice, such as salt, cayenne, Italian herbs, curry, cumin, etc.  Mix well.  Spread out in a single layer.
  2. I have read recipes that suggest roasting at 350 or 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. However, this is too hot and too long for seeds more delicate than pumpkin.  I prefer a slower oven – about 325 degrees.  Stir/check color and scent about every 10 minutes.  Since I dry them overnight, I cook them in the oven while I am making breakfast.

On Your Stovetop:

  1. Same as above: single layer, drizzled with oil and flavorings, stirred occasionally, monitor timing and temperature.  I do not do this anymore because of the occasional seeds that pop out of the pan.  Not a big deal.  Just my preference.
  2. The roasted seeds will crisp up more when cool.

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Mrs. Alaska blogs at: Alaskauu1.blogspot.com

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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!