Announcing the Updated SurvivalBlog Archive

Now available for digital download, for just $14.95 Has full SurvivalBlog site content from 2005 to 2016 Expanded bonus material (5 additional books and 15 additional military radio manuals) Extra year of content (2016 ) Faster download time! Note: This release will be followed by the same content on a custom SurvivalBlog logo alloy 8 GB waterproof USB memory stick with an O-ring seal, suitable for your bugout bag. That should be available for ordering in early February. It will be priced under $25. But the digital download (that you can copy onto your own stick or your laptop’s hard drive) is available now. – JWR…




Essential Survival Tips From A Hurricane Irma Survivor, by C.S.

…fit in the freezer? No wait – I need the freezer space for ice! No wait—I need to put the lunch meat in the freezer…no wait— I need gas to power the generator to make the freezer run!” You get the picture. The Body and Everybody Focuses on Survival Unfortunately, in a survival situation, your body says it doesn’t really need that much sleep, because there’s too much else to do to survive. I know that I’m not the only woman who reacted this way. Every single woman I’ve met in the grocery store said the same thing. Another interesting factoid is that everyone in the supermarkets was suddenly talking to each other. Complete strangers became your new chat buddies. The grocery store attendants are listening to people’s stories. They were doing this while trying to stack bread, which was instantly snatched before they could get it on the shelves….




How to Live Longer Now and After TEOTWAWKI, by Kevin D.

…you sports fans, the team physicians for the Chicago Blackhawks credit rigorous vitamin D supplements with improving player performance and being a contributing factor in the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup Championship.  In the past few years, vitamin D is has finally been receiving the attention it deserves considering its critical role in human bodily function.  Almost weekly, new research is released confirming the benefits of vitamin D.  Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies prefer to manufacture countless drugs to alleviate symptoms that are often caused by lack of vitamin D.  These pharmaceutical companies don’t like to advocate vitamin D as a valid course of treatment because they cannot patent vitamin D and profit from it.  And, because these pharmaceutical companies advertise heavily in all media outlets (including magazines and online news sites), they may exert influence to suppress articles on homeopathic and natural treatments. UV Rays and Vitamin D Similar to cholesterol which…




Letter Re: Barter as an Investment and a Hedge

While barter for necessities is one possibility, barter for wealth is another. A poor man with a small investment in an essential TEOTWAWKI item can magnify his wealth. If you are not in a position to outfit yourself with the food/weapons/tools you would like now, consider a barter investment. Something you can get cheaply now, and then trade for the items that are currently out of your budget. When choosing barter goods for storage, consider seven things. Original cost, size, availability, need, divisibility, verification, and indestructibility. Items stored for barter should: (1) Have a very low initial cost. In this way, barter becomes an investment, hedging against TEOTWAWKI (2) Be small enough to take to market easily (3) Be things very easy to obtain now and virtually impossible to obtain later due to the manufacturing process involved. (4) Be things that you cannot easily live without (5) Be easily divisible…




Letter from “F1” Re: Trapping and Snaring

Hi Jim and Memsahib: An overlooked area for putting meat on the table is trapping and snaring. Perhaps the reason is it is an almost lost skill because most people live in cities or the suburbs today. However, WTSHTF it may mean the difference between having meat on the table or none at all when, if the supply runs out. Those who live in cities and suburban areas normally have squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, deer, raccoons and other edible animals available if they have the knowledge and equipment to obtain them. Many in rural areas who are preparing plan on using a firearm to obtain their meat because they too lack trapping and snaring skills and equipment. I am attracted to trapping and snaring for manifold reasons. One, it provides a means to obtain food without drawing attention by the sound of a firearm going off, thus providing an almost silent…




Changes for 2011, The Taxman Cometh

…socialized medicine legislative package that was enacted this year.. This new law requires all purchases of in excess of $600 USD to be reported on a IRS Form 1099. This has sparked an uproar. The implications of this new law are huge, especially when you consider the sheer volume of private transactions in the so-called “underground economy.” Perhaps worst of all is that this new is in effect turning private citizens into unpaid IRS agents by putting this new reporting requirement on small businesses. Not only will they have to do this paperwork, but they will have to do it all at their own expense. This will undoubtedly require the hiring of hundreds and hundreds of accountants to handle this mountain of paperwork–the countless thousands of Form 1099s that will need to be filed. This is just another example of Congress not only putting unfunded mandates on the states, but…




A Crucial DIY Skill: Ammunition Handloading, by Aaron L.

…the powder is being housed … that flash ignites the powder in a semi-controlled explosion (the blast), and the mass of that powder is transformed into a gas… the energy … the gas then pushes the bullet out the barrel of the gun. What you are doing when you reload these brass casings is you first resize the brass casing to its original size… you pop out the spent primer … you place a new primer in the bottom of the casing … refill the brass casing with powder… and finally seat a new bullet in the mouth of the brass casing.  Once you watch the DVD, you will realize how easy this process is.  These tasks are primarily performed by merely moving the handle of the reloading press up and down, and it usually requires very little physical force to complete these tasks.  You will need a small area…




Letter Re: The Bosnian Experience

…things started to go bad, there was no more fuel to heat these apartments. Not that many people had wood burning stoves and the winters in Eastern Europe can get really cold. I would advise that if you don’t have a wood burning stove, to get one and store it somewhere until you need it. You will need it not just for heat but also for cooking. The people that had stoves or were able to obtain them or make them then had another problem, getting the firewood. If you live inside of city that is surrounded and you can’t just go outside of city and cut some trees down, obtaining firewood can become your daily battle for survival. Burning your furniture, books, park benches, trees from the parks and every other tree that you can find will be normal. I would advise that if you are going to have…




Help For Those Who Have Recently Awakened, by Mike H.

…preparations.  This step shouldn’t be seriously considered until someone (at a minimum) has mentally and emotionally accepted Steps 1 and 2.  It is best if they have done their research and gained some practical experience with their preparations. A few general guidelines when starting: When prioritizing needs, I would first obtain firearms and ammunition.  This can be easily explained as part of Step 1 preparations; you are defending against potential burglars and post-disaster looters.  I place this item first because given our current political climate, it is almost certain that the current administration will do everything possible to make firearms more difficult to obtain, or more expensive through regulation.  Obtain as much training as you can.  If you take classes in firearm training, first aid, canning, etc. you not only are gaining survival skills, but you can also find a new hobby.  Don’t think of it (or describe it) as…




Letter Re: One Strategy for Bugout Bag Foods

…gels contain mostly glucose/dextrose (or maltodextrose) because it hits the bloodstream quickly and doesn’t require much digestion. These might very well be the best quick-energy option because some gels also contain electrolytes (mentioned in the Hunger article) and caffeine. What’s not to like? The caloric content of gels is around three calories per gram, while solid glucose/dextrose candy should come in closer to four. Candy made from sucrose (table sugar) has the same caloric content. Werther’s Original Creamy Caramel Filled hard candies candy (which I happen to have on hand), for example, is mostly glucose (and you really have to love that caramel filling!). If you can’t afford the more than $1 per pack for the energy gels you could still do pretty well with hard candy for a shot of energy once it dissolved in your mouth. Yes, there is an energy crash following the “sugar high” (less with sports…




The Drug Seeker Threat in Disasters, by Dr. Bob

…first or second hand, real life excuses or behaviors that drug seekers have used in the ERs, Urgent Cares, and clinics to try to obtain drugs:   Death of a generic loved one (when they are not dead, Grandfathers the most common) Death of a wife (usually a living wife, ex-wife, or common-law has no knowledge of their death) Death of a child (particularly tough to resist urge to punch seeker in face, but hasn’t happened…yet) Sexual assault Domestic violence Pricking finger with needle to put blood in urine sample (makes it look like kidney stone) Using child’s pain to obtain meds (again, resolve fading…fist rising…must not punch) Stealing dying relatives’ medications (Hospice patients, cancer patients especially.  One took the narcotic patch right off the dying relative for himself.)   These are just some of the more heinous examples above, the classic excuses are always still worth mentioning:  dog ate them,…




Developing a Communications Plan for Your Group, by N.M.

…in your area. Use resources such as www.repeaterdirectory.com or www.artscripub.com, and publications such as the ARRL Repeater Directory. Bear in mind that those resources are as only as accurate as people who supply and update the information. Some Amateur Radio frequency coordination groups also maintain a list of repeaters they have coordinated. Also, search for local clubs’ web sites, as they will list any repeaters they maintain. Consider repeaters that have less traffic on them, especially 220mHz repeaters; these tend to have very few Hams on them. Next, determine which ones you can reach with your home radio and external antenna, with your hand held from both home and work, and with your mobile radio from likely places that you might be. Make a column in your spreadsheet for each location and radio (hand held and/or mobile, et cetera). Have each person complete the spreadsheet and then combine the results….




Youth’s Lessons: The Slingshot – Part 1, by J.M.

…be made from almost any material that provides sufficient structural rigidity – wood, plastic, metal, antlers and carbon fiber are some of the more common examples. The frame doesn’t have to be beautiful or fancy – it can be a simple Y-shaped branch you cut from a tree and trimmed to the right size and shape for you. As long as you can hold it comfortably and consistently and securely attach bands it’ll work for a slingshot. That being said, there are some incredibly beautiful examples that people have made – try searching for ‘handmade wooden slingshot (or ‘catapult’) using your favorite Internet search engine, or check out some of the Ooak Forge creations. The most common type of slingshot frame has forks, which are the arms that stick up from the frame on each side for attaching the bands. The ‘Y’ frame, which makes up probably 99% of all…




The Current Nuclear Threat – Part 2, by John M.

…5) Two other points: a) The US is protected by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans — Russia is surrounded by enemies. With 1.5 billion Chinese on her southern doorstep. b) Stealth tech and GPS guided cruise missiles destroyed Mutual Assured Destruction. How do you threaten retaliation if you do NOT know where the nukes came from? Or from whom. In the old days, there was a 30 minute warning for ICBM launches and much longer warning for bomber waves. With the source destination clearly known. Today there may be little to no warning and limited to no indication of the source. What does that imply for “Use them or Lose Them”? Steve T I find this interesting as WND had an article yesterday about a US-Soviet Nuclear engagement. Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security concludes the Gog battle is a “realistic scenario.” https://www.wnd.com/2019/09/study-end-times-gog-magog-war-prophecy-realistic/ Don Williams A longer term…




Letter Re: Home Security in Great Britain

…and have been unable to find work since. The same goes for my fiancée, who lost her job nearly two years ago and has also been unable to find a new work placement. We both have to survive on[a combined unemployment insurance benefit of] just over £53 per week (about $84.50 USD), pay all our bills, rent, buy our food, and also bring up our young daughter. It’s outrageous. In the past two years alone I have witnessed more businesses and company’s both regionally, and nationally, collapse due to the economic state that my government has put the country in. I have recently applied to join the British Armed Forces Reserves (Territorial Army, or TA) in an attempt to earn more money to support my family, and also acquire any necessary tactical, survival, and combat, training and techniques that will undoubtedly prove vital WTSHTF. Another concern I have, the laws…