Editors’ Prepping Progress

Edit date and time 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:

I often listen to music when I’m writing and editing the blog.  When an article needs my full concentration, I generally avoid pieces with lyrics — I try to find instrumentals, or I subconsciously start typing lyrics!

My recently-visited Radio.Garden stations:

  • Jive Radio (KJIV), Madras, Oregon. One of the most eclectic mixes of music I’ve found in CONUS.
  • Radio Berrner Oberland (“Radio BeO”), Interlaken, Switzerland.
  • SRF 4 News, Zurich, Switzerland. We have a Swiss friend of the family who will be visiting the Rawles Ranch again, later this month. So stations like Radio BeO and SRF 4 help me brush up on my Schweizerdeutsch.
  • KVMR, Nevada City, California. I enjoy the folk music that they play on weekends.
  • Radio Garuda, Paramaribo, Suriname.

(Note: Radio.Garden has been glitchy with recent releases of Firefox, but it works well with the Opera browser.)

This week I did a few more fence repairs. I also dropped two “leaner” fir trees that might eventually threaten a spot where we plan to construct an outbuilding. Since that is green wood, I’ll probably just cut and stack those rounds (up to 21-inch diameter) in place between a couple of standing trees for a full year.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.

For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.

The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.

He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.” – Psalm 36 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — May 13, 2022

May 13th is the birthday of firearms engineer Theodor Koch (born 1905, died 1976.) Koch, along with Edmund Heckler and Alex Seidel salvaged tooling from the bombed-out Mauser factory at Oberndorf, and with it founded Heckler und Koch.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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 SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 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

On Thermonuclear War, by 3AD Scout

A lot of chatter can be heard and read about “nuclear war” these days. Like every other subject, there are many differing opinions as to whether or not it is going to happen. As Preppers, our goal is to survive disasters regardless of the origins of the disasters. There are some disasters that we seem to let our politics sway our opinion more than facts and some of us also become unknowing victims of the normalcy bias, nuclear war being one of those disasters.

I am a product of the Cold War. As a teenager, I didn’t read comic books. I read “SURVIVE” and “AMERICAN SURVIVAL GUIDE” magazines. I read books on the Soviet Military with special interest in their nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) warfare capabilities. In the Army, I volunteered for extra assignment that dealt with NBC warfare. During my college days I was asked by my National Defense & Securities professor to partake in a lecture he was giving on Nuclear Winter. The professor wanted me to provide a rebuttal to the theory of Nuclear Winter. In the late 1990s one of my first civilian jobs was working to help first responders develop plans and policy for responding to terrorist attacks using NBC weapons. I also became a member of our county Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Dealing with NBC issues for sometime now, I think, has given me a different perspective about the risk than most. We sometime forget that there are Hazards and then there is risk. Hazards would be tornados or nuclear war but the risk is the likelihood that they occur. What I propose in this article is that we, as Preppers, look beyond the “white noise” and look at the hazard and risk of nuclear war in a different light.

Continue reading“On Thermonuclear War, by 3AD Scout”

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 altered long-term trends in the bond, equities, forex, and real estate markets, caused by the Fed’s new Quantitative Tightening policy. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Egon Von Greyerz: The West – A Vicious Cycle Of Self-Destruction.

o  o  o

Gold Market to Look Past Fed Rate Hikes.

Economy & Finance:

John Hussman: Repricing a Market Priced for Zero. Here is a quote:

“Faced with a zero-interest rate world that combined ‘fear of missing out’ with a belief that ‘there is no alternative’ to yield-seeking speculation, investors unwittingly drove the most reliable stock market valuation measures to levels beyond the 1929 and 2000 extremes. Unfortunately, those valuations also imply dismal long-term returns in any world not permanently dominated by FOMO and TINA psychology. Measured from the recent bubble peak, the likely consequence will be a long, interesting, 10-20 year trip to nowhere for the S&P 500.”

o  o  o

At The WSJ: Fed’s Quantitative Tightening Throws a Wrench Into Mortgage-Bond Market.

o  o  o

UBS: What impact will QT have on financial markets?

o  o  o

Quantitative Tightening Will Slow Deposit Growth, Put Modest Upward Pressure on Yields.

o  o  o

A view from Across The Pond: What will be the consequence of quantitative tightening?

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — May 12, 2022

101 years ago this week, in May of 1921 a solar storm began, dubbed: The Great Geomagnetic Storm of May 1921. These were some of the headlines: “Telegraph Service Prostrated, Comet Not to Blame” — declared the Los Angeles Times on May 15, 1921. “Electrical Disturbance is ‘Worst Ever Known’” — reported the Chicago Daily Tribune. “Sunspot credited with Rail Tie-up” — in The New York Times.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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 SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 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

Review of HCMAGS Tactical Pack for the Ruger 10/22, by Francis, the Semi-Prepper

I’m 76 years old and we live in a Home Owners Association communiity near a major southern city in the suburbs. My wife and I will not leave our grandchildren who live in the city but they DO fortunately attend a Christian religious school, not a public school. I have previously posted about our first steps in abandoning our home if we have to. We will not leave them but do have plans which I intended to present here for abandoning our home in case of the WROL or TEOTWAWKI but because of OPSEC will present nothing anymore on that subject. JWR in reviewing my thoughts used the term gedankenexperiment, though I must admit I’m not good with any language, I looked it up and it means planning but not doing…..we did do it and found some very bad surprises in mapping out our escape routes, thus OPSEC.

I have been trying to find a solid alternative for the 25-round Ruger BX-25 magazine. The 10 round magazines we have work perfectly, not a hiccup. The Ruger BX-25 25-round magazines don’t cycle properly every time, despite taking them apart, sanding and cleaning. There has been some progress but I view the two I have as unreliable. In an attempt to get them to work properly, I only load 20 rounds, which sometimes works. Right now, our grandchildren can use the Ruger 10/22.

What drives this? Well, like many of you I have been amazed at how quickly our country has fallen into rot. Children have to be able to defend themselves and the .22 long rifle cartridge has many applications. I have no doubt that we, our children, or our grandchildren will need more than firearms but this is ONE SMALL STEP ALONG THE WAY.Continue reading“Review of HCMAGS Tactical Pack for the Ruger 10/22, by Francis, the Semi-Prepper”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers on  societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we further examine the trend of buying second passports.

Wealthy Americans are Buying Second Passports

Several readers sent us this link: Wealthy Americans are buying second passports as a ‘plan B’ for their families, citing the pandemic, climate change, and political turmoil. Her eis a quote:

“The one thing they all have in common: deep-rooted fear about the future of American society, he said.

From a tech founder concerned about the rise in Asian-American hate crimes to young web3 entrepreneurs looking to avoid tax hikes, Jafri said wealthy clients across the political spectrum are planning for the worst.”

Urban Flight Pushing Up Housing Prices

Migration from big cities leading to overvalued housing prices in smaller markets.

Pfizer’s Jab Adverse Reactions Data Released

D.S. sent this, posted by Wendy McElroy: Pfizer Data Dump. Wendy’s comment:

“They knew they killed 1,223 people with their vaccine, that according to their own documents, has a 15% efficacy rate…not the 95% Fauci claimed.”

Dinesh D’Souza 2,000 Mules Movie Downplayed

Reader E.S. sent this, from Martin W. Armstrong: 2000 Mules: Another Banned Movie?  E.S. had this comment:

“I live in Europe and things are changing fast : shortages in shops, reduction in public services, growing poverty, more efforts to push ‘green’ agenda, demonizing alternative channels and poltical parties and social movements that challenge the status quo, etc, etc.

We live again the destruction of a vital generation in Ukraine and Russia to the benefit of  some circles just as we saw 75 years and 100 years ago exsanguinating Europe and pushing for migration from Muslim countries…what a drama to live this. Thanks to keep us informed and to hold your ground.”

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

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — May 11, 2022

On May 11, 1949, Israel was admitted into the United Nations.

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Reader Tracy M. mentioned that Spaceweather.com reported this yesterday:

X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE: An unusually-magnetized sunspot exploded on May 10th, producing an intense X1.5-class solar flare. Shortwave radio signals were blacked out around the Atlantic Ocean for as much as an hour, and now there’s a chance a CME is heading our way.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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 SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 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

My Newbie Experience Buying a Milk Cow – Part 2, by SaraSue

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

A Calf is Born and Begins Milking

It’s been a bit of a rodeo, but I am undeterred. She was gentle as long as you didn’t touch her. LOL. She was sweet and beautiful as long as you didn’t interrupt her grazing on the grassy knoll. She learned to come into the stanchion, which is basically a structure you build to milk your cow in if you don’t have a barn set up to use. It has a “head gate” so that you can hold the cow’s head still, and therefore her body, for milking, health care, etc. The only reason on God’s green earth that she willingly came into the stanchion was because she’s a pig when it comes to a pan of grain. But, you can’t over feed ‘em when they’re pregnant or they will get fat and that will cause a more difficult birth. We walked a fine line until she had her calf. She got a little grain, she got cut up apples, as long as she tolerated me “handling” her. Every day we practiced entering the stanchion, locking the head gate, eating a bit of grain or apples, and “handling” her udders. She barely tolerated it, but we kept at it.

The day she had her calf was the most nerve-wracking experience next to birthing my own children. It was just her and me. I watched her all day and I could tell she was in labor, but there were no little hooves poking out; I didn’t see her water break; no visible signs other than her seemingly having contractions – something I would recognize. Late in the day I couldn’t see her so I went looking and found her laying at the bottom of the grassy knoll on her side. There were 2 hooves poking out, palms down – a good sign that the calf was in the right position. I could see a little tongue on top of the hooves – also a good sign that the calf’s head was in the right position. She seemed distressed and I started to panic.Continue reading“My Newbie Experience Buying a Milk Cow – Part 2, by SaraSue”

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. We may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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Video from Task & Purpose: US Army OFFICIALLY HAS A NEW PRIMARY WEAPON.  JWR’s Comments:   I concur with most of the description, except for “long barrel life” claim. I suppose the good news is that both the SIG M5 carbine and M50 LMG have quick-change barrels. Methinks the Army will be buying a lot of replacement barrels.

o  o  o

Reader C.B. sent this chilling news: Scottsdale parents who discovered secret dossier compiled to silence their speech announce lawsuit.

o  o  o

CDC Tracked Millions of Phones to See If Americans Followed COVID Lockdown Orders.

o  o  o

My #1 Son recommended this essay by Adam Van Buskirk: Collapse Won’t Reset Society.

o  o  o

At Reason: The State Took Her Home Because She Missed $900 in Property Taxes.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — May 10, 2022

May 10th is the birthday of the late Janis Pinups (born 1925, died 15 June 2007). He was one of the last of the Forest Brothers anti-communist resistance fighters. He came out of hiding, after five decades, to obtain a Latvian passport in 1994, after the collapse of eastern European communism. (He was never issued any communist government identity papers and by necessity lived as a nonexistent ghost during the entire Soviet occupation of Latvia.) The history of the Forest Brothers movement certainly deserves more recognition.

May 10, 1972. Top Gun Graduate Randall “Duke” Cunningham and his backseater Wally “Irish” Driscoll shot down three MiGs in a dogfight and became the first Ace of the Vietnam War. He later commanded the Top Gun school when they came to make the first Top Gun movie. His Vice Commander was then John McCain.

May 10th is also the birthday of the late Col. Jeff Cooper (born 1920, died September 25, 2006).

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 100 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 SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A LogOX 3-in-1 Forestry MultiTool (a $189 value) and a WoodOx Sling (a $79.95 value), courtesy of LogOx, both made in USA.
  4. A transferable $100 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $725,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 100 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