Bersa Model 383, by Pat Cascio

This particular pistol, the Bersa Model 383, has been in the family for about 25-years, maybe even longer. It was my wife’s everyday carry gun, for a lot of years. She just likes the way it feels in her hand for some reason. It was a step-up from her little .22 LR pistol that was never reliable, and of course, the .22 LR is a pitiful stopper when used for self-defense. It took a lot of years before my wife gave up the Versa 383 and started carrying a Glock 19, with a laser on it. It was just recently, that she started carrying a Taurus G2c. And before that, she had the Taurus PT111. I offered her a Taurus G3c, but she preferred the G2c for some reason.

The .380 ACP round isn’t my first choice in a self-defense handgun, although with the new Ruger .380 MAX, that holds 10+ or 12+1 rounds of .380 ACP, my thinking has changed – that’s a lot of ammo in a small handgun – a very small handgun. Still, anything in .380 ACP is not my first choice in a self-defense handgun.

My wife and I have easily put at least 2,000-rounds of .380 ACP through this Bersa Model 383 over the years – always in target practice. However, for the past dozen years or more, the Bersa has sat unused, There are just too many other firearms that we enjoy shooting more than the Bersa.

The 383 is similar in size to the Walther PPK/s If that helps you understand the size – this size is considered “compact” by many gun makers. The gun has a 3.5-inch barrel, and weighs in at about 26-ounces. It has a steel frame. The current Bersa that is called the Thunder 380 has an aluminum frame is about half a pound lighter in weight. The 383 is blued – nicely done I might add. And has 3-dot white sights – a very nice touch. The grips are wooden, while on the new models, they are polymer. This is a single action/double action pistol – with the hammer down, the first shot is a long and VERY heavy pull. But the single-action trigger after that first shot isn’t terribly bad.Continue reading“Bersa Model 383, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Layered Baked Mexican Dip

The following recipe for a layered baked Mexican Dip is from blog reader Phil M.. He says: “I have made this is in at least ten different countries over the years and it’s always been a hit.”

Ingredients
  • 1 Can refried beans (or dried equivalent)
  • Jalapeno peppers  to taste
  • 1 to 1½ cups cottage cheese
  • 2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese or mild cheddar cheese
  • 2 green peppers diced
  • 3 red peppers diced
  • One bag of Nacho chips (round ones are good)
Directions
  1. In a medium casserole, spread the refried beans evenly.
  2. Add a layer of Jalapeño peppers (I used pickled from a jar).
  3. Over that, spread the cottage cheese,
  4. Then add the Shredded cheese (I use mild cheddar) evenly,
  5. Add the Green and Red peppers to cover the cheese and
  6. Bake at 350 Degrees F for 45 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling all over the dish,
SERVING

Serve hot, and be warned you, it will burn your mouth!  This is a great party snack or movie night snack. It also works well as a light supper.

STORAGE

Left-overs may be refrigerated. “Reheated, they go well with eggs and bacon or sausage and a side of pan-fried potatoes.”

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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!

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 farm commodities. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

Andre sent us this: Russia Is Now Initiating A Short Squeeze On Gold Derivatives In The West.

o  o  o

What You Need To Know About Physical Gold Supply And Demand.

Economy, Finance, & Taxation:

Recession ahead! US Treasury yield curve inverts again.

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MSN: Chinese and European markets have seen a massive capital exodus since Russia invaded Ukraine. (Our thanks to C.R.B. for the link.)

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A Stoic Finance video: Two $100 Billion Hedge Funds Just Collapsed…

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Beware of wartime fake news triggering a run, EU banks told.

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Biden pitches largest tax hike in history as part of $5.8T budget request.  JWR’s Comment: Take note that Biden’s proposed tax is based on “net worth” rather than annual income. So, if a “land rich” rancher only took a small profit as income, he’d still be taxed at this new confiscatory rate. This sort of tax is what will inevitably cause Atlas to Shrug.

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — April 3, 2022

This is the birthday of Washington Irving, an American author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th Century. He is best known for short stories like Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but he also wrote several biographies and served as the US Ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846.

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Please continue to pray for the people of Ukraine. The situation is becoming quite dire, with atrocities coming to light.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 99 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
  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. 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 $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 begins on Monday, 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.

Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 6, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 5.  This concludes the article.)

For an inexpensive commercial slingshot the PC Supersonic is an excellent initial option. It costs around $20, is made of super strong polymer and has thumb screws for band attachment, which allows quick band changes in the field. It only supports OTT for band attachment, which works well for most beginners, supports multiple grip styles and comes with a single lighter weight band. It doesn’t have an arrow rest option, but if you search the web for ‘diy slingshot arrow rest’ you can find a number of ways to easily add one.

Moving up in cost, the SimpleShot Scout series is one of the best all-around options available both for beginners as well as advanced users. It’s available in two models – the LT, which works well for smaller hands and is more compact, and the XT which is slightly larger. Both models are $40+shipping, and both come with two medium flat bands with pre-tied pouches. Both the XT and LT use SimpleShot’s Flip Clip and can be configured as either OTT or TTF, and I highly recommend getting the optional thumb screws ($5), which allow easy band changes in the field (there are two different sizes of thumb screws – make sure you get the right ones for your model). Continue reading“Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 6, by J.M.”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR:

To share this, you can find it here: https://www.kapwing.com/videos/624710f46c98a600fac8989b

Meme Text:

The You’re-A-Peons are About To Learn

That Master-Blaster Runs EuroTown…

“Embargo On!”

News Links:

Video Link: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: “Master-Blaster Runs Bartertown”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:1-23 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — April 2, 2022

Today is the birthday of Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (Apr 2, 1849 – February 8, 1902) was a Russian military officer, engineer, and a co-designer of the Mosin-Nagant rifle.  These rifles have been spotted in use in the current Ukraine war.

This is the birthday of Émile François Zola, a novelist and essayist. He is most often remembered as the author of “J’accuse” (I Accuse!), his lengthy open letter to President Félix Faure, which accused the French government of anti-semitism.

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You might have noticed that our primary server was down for several hours yesterday. (Friday, April 1st, 2022.)  There is no cause for alarm. It wasn’t a hacker or a solar flare that was to blame. Nay, it was just a power company excavator that was digging in the wrong place  — and severed a very expensive fiberoptic cable.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 99 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 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 begins on Monday, 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.

 

Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 5, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 4.)

If you want to easily include some arrows as part of your slingshot carry kit without worrying about how to store and carry them, PocketShot makes some great standard and bowfishing 3-section take-down arrows. If you plan on going after larger game you should replace the field tips on the standard arrows with broadheads.

As an aside, since slingshot people stole arrows from archery folks, I guess some turnabout is only fair –a company called Shoottech Systems makes a dual-string bow with a magnetic catch on the string that allows you to shoot steel balls with a bow.

Darts are arrow’s little brother, but they can be amazingly effective for hunting and fishing as well as self-defense, and they’re a lot more portable and concealable. These are typically 5”-6” long shafts with a sharp tip, a notch for hooking it to the band string and a knurled tail to grip when you’re drawing. Like arrows they’re available with fletching for hunting (and self-defense) and without fletching for fishing. My favorite hunting dart is the Sniper Sling Gen 2, which has a shaft made of carbon fiber and a replaceable tip. They weigh around .2 oz. (6g), which is a little more than a 7/16 steel ball, so you can use regular bands instead of heavy ones, but they have amazing accuracy and penetration power even with regular bands. Using a single tapered Theraband Gold band with a dart string and only drawing to my cheek I shot one at ½” plywood from about 30’ away and the dart completely penetrated the plywood with the tip sticking out around ¼” on the other side. Here’s a video of some guys testing them out with similar results. The darts are a bit more expensive ($28 for 5), but worth it. If you ever need replacement tips you can contact Sniper Sling via email and they’ll sell you some for $1.20 each plus shipping.Continue reading“Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 5, by J.M.”

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:

This past week, we were very busy with slash burning and manure hauling. We also did some furniture moving, to get Miss Violet (our younger daughter) set up in her new room.

Our kitchen remodeling project also necessitated some extra trips to town, for painting supplies, new light fixtures, outlet plates, light switch plates, et cetera. Now that the roads have cleared, this is a very scenic time of year to travel. We saw snowy peaks, the first greening of the meadows, and rushing snowmelt rivulets. We were also blessed with mostly clear skies.  Gorgeous! But all those hours of driving — and the fuel expenses, these days — do add up.

Lily will now fill you in with more details…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?

And the captain of the Lord‘s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” – Joshua 5-13 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 1, 2022

April 1st, 1886 was the birthday of Arthur W. Pink, who died 15 July 1952 and was an English Christian evangelist and excellent Reformed Biblical scholar. It was his meticulously referenced arguments in his book, The Sovereignty of God, that first convinced me of the truth of the doctrine of Election.

April 1st is both April Fool’s Day and (unofficially) Molly Ivins Day. The latter refers to this key verse: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1 KJV)

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 99 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 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 begins in just two days, 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.

Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 3.)

If you’re ever in a survival situation and you need a slingshot, the good news is that it’s possible to make field expedient bands from some commonly available materials, including:

Each of these has different characteristics, so you’ll need to do some experimenting with different ways of shaping, combining and attaching them to see what works best.

I realize that this is probably a lot more information than you’d ever thought you’d need regarding slingshot bands, but in reality I’ve only scratched the surface. I recommend you initially stick with buying quality pre-made bands from places like SimpleShot, Fowler’s Makery and Mischief and Sniper Sling to get started. If you want to learn a lot more about how different bands behave, Montie Gear and SimpleShot produced a detailed report showing the results of different tests they ran on different bands. There’s also a nice presentation available on making your own flat bands, and plenty of additional information on various web sites and forums.Continue reading“Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 4, by J.M.”

March 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 March?

Volatility was the theme for March, as sanctions against Russia and disruptions in food and fuel supplies caused by the war rocked global economies. Sanctions imposed on Russia had the effect of pressuring the economies of the sanctioning countries as well.

Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine sent safe-haven assets higher early in the month. Gold traded over $2,000 in Europe on Monday the 7th, with oil selling for more than $130 a barrel.

A short round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia fell through in mid-March, but not before gold lost $98 over eight sessions, bottoming out at $1,895 on March 16th.

Gold rose to above $2,000 an ounce after peace talks broke down and inflation scares grew. They briefly fell below $1,900 again as a new round of peace talks began, but recovered as recession fears climbed at the end of the month.

Factors Affecting Gold This Month

Heightened market concerns that the Fed would be aggressive in hiking interest rates were temporarily overshadowed as the economic fallout from the Ukrainian War took center stage in March.Continue reading“March 2022 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran”