SurvivalBlog.com

January 7th, 1963, was the birthday of Senator Rand Paul. Happy 59th birthday, Rand!

And also the birthday of Cresson Kearny (born 1914, died December 18, 2003.)

This is also the birthday of Bent Faurschou-Hviid, known as The Flame (born 1921, died October 18, 1944). The Flame was a red-haired Danish resistance fighter in the Holger Danske Group during World War II. His exploits were dramatized in the movie Flame and Citron.

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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.

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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.

January 6th, 1745 was the birthday of Jacques and James Montgolfier, the twin brothers who pioneered hot air ballooning.

Today is also the birthday of musician Earl Scruggs, (1924-2012)

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A special prayer request:  Mike, a good friend up in the great white north, wrote to tell me that he has just been diagnosed with advanced cancer in both lungs, and several other organs. Please say a special prayer for Mike, for miraculous healing.

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.

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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.

My sincere thanks to the 83 readers who responded to my post yesterday, requesting Ten Cent Challenge subscriptions. Several folks sent $100, one sent $200, and one sent $365–presumably as a “catch-up’  payment for a decade of reading the blog without previously subscribing. Your generous support is greatly appreciated!

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January 5th, 1855 was the birthday of King Camp Gillette (pictured), who invented the safety razor.

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Today is also the birthday of actor Robert Duvall (born 1931.) His roles in Open Range and Apocalypse Now are unforgettable.

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This is also the birthday of General Courtney Hodges (born 1887 – January 16, 1966). Kicked out of West Point for low math scores, he enlisted as a private but soon became a maverick officer and went on to a distinguished career.

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Today’s feature article was written by the newest member of our staff, Thomas Christianson. He will become Field Gear Editor, when Pat Cascio semi-retires, to become our Field Gear Editor, Emeritus. Pat plans to gradually reduce his writing schedule. Since it was staff-written, today’s Review article is not part of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest judging.

Tom provided this biographical sketch and introduction:

My motto as Field Gear Editor is taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:21: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

I grew up in a small town in a semi-rural area in the Midwest, where everyone was acutely aware that food came from a farm before it ever came from a grocery store. We learned gun safety in school, and on the first day of hunting season, all the young men were absent from school.

I began writing as a stringer for a local newspaper while still in high school, and have enjoyed writing ever since.

After college and seminary, my wife and I spent a decade overseas as missionaries. We then returned to my hometown where I joined the staff of my sending church. One of my responsibilities there is to care for our missionaries. Sometimes I have opportunities to test field gear while on trips to work with our missionaries.

If you happen to know of any field gear that would be helpful to SurvivalBlog readers, please contact me at ThomasKChristianson at gmail dot com to tell me about it.

January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde, who was born “Heide” in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease Gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forums mentioned some details on his life before World War II:

“Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man at Griffin & Howe. He quit there and went into business for himself. Samuel A. “Harry” Leonard teamed up with Hyde, and their rifles are marked “Leonard & Hyde New York” on the barrel. In May of 1935 [school teacher and New York National Guard Major N.H.] Ned Roberts and his father-in-law [well-known carte-de-visite photographer] W.G.C. Kimball went into business together as “Roberts and Kimball” in Woburn, Massachusetts. Their idea was to make high-quality sporting and varmint rifles on Mauser actions in the then-popular cartridge that bears Roberts’ name, the .257 Roberts. Metal work on these Roberts & Kimball guns was done by George Hyde, and the stocking was done by Harry Leonard. Some information suggests that Leonard and Hyde did not relocate to Massachusetts but that the work was sent to them in New York City. Roberts & Kimball company lasted less than a year, and their rifles are not found very often.”

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Today we present a guest article by author Wayne Bosak. Since he is a blog advertiser, this article is not part of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest judging.

Round 98 of the contest 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.

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But up first is our annual subscription reminder.